Islamabad: Both the Iranian and American delegations reached Islamabad some hours ago for the high-profile peace talks.
But there have been no direct deliberations yet.
According to reports, Vice-President JD Vance, leading the US delegation, has met Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Similarly, the Iranian team, which includes Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, has been engaging with Pakistani officials.
The war of words and the rhetoric in the buildup to the talks have led to a growing distrust between the two sides.
Donald Trump warned that the US is loading its warships in case there wa
s no deal, and added that the Strait of Hormuz will open soon, with or without Iran.
Iran’s First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Aref lectured that a deal was possible with the US if it focused on ‘America First’ instead of ‘Israel First’.
“If we negotiate in Islamabad with representatives of ‘America First,’ an agreement beneficial to both sides and the world is probable. However, if we face representatives of ‘Israel First,’ there will be no deal… we will inevitably continue our defence even more vigorously than before, and the world will face greater costs,” Aref wrote on X.
As direct talks look unlikely at least for the time being, the possibility of a trilateral meeting — featuring the US, Iran and Pakistan – was raised.
However, Iran said it will go into trilateral talks with the US and Pakistan only after certain preconditions are met, Al Jazeera reported from Islamabad.
Iran reiterated that Israeli strikes on Lebanon must cease, and their frozen assets held in Qatar and other foreign banks must be released.