Senior American and Iranian officials sat down face-to-face in Islamabad on Saturday for the highest-level direct negotiations between the two countries in decades, marking a rare diplomatic opening in a war that has killed thousands and disrupted the global economy. The White House confirmed that trilateral talks involving the United States, Iran, and host nation Pakistan were underway at the Serena Hotel, a significant departure from previous rounds in which the two sides communicated only through intermediaries. Negotiations have since advanced to an expert level, with economic, military, legal, and nuclear committees from both sides joining the main delegations.

The US delegation is led by Vice President JD Vance, accompanied by Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential adviser Jared Kushner, along with officials from the National Security Council, State Department, and Department of Defence. Iran's delegation is headed by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and includes Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Supreme National Defence Council Secretary Ali Akbar Ahmadian, and central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held separate bilateral meetings with both delegations before the talks began, reaffirming Islamabad's role as the broker of a temporary ceasefire it helped negotiate on April 8, following the outbreak of the US-Israeli war against Iran on February 28.

The talks come with deep mistrust on both sides and a crowded agenda. Washington is pressing for restrictions on Iran's nuclear programme, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz — effectively closed since the war began — and a curbing of Iran's regional proxy networks. Tehran is demanding full sanctions relief, recognition of its nuclear rights, the release of an estimated $7 billion in frozen assets, compensation for damage caused by US-Israeli strikes, and an explicit halt to Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran's foreign minister said his country was entering negotiations with "deep distrust," while Vance warned Tehran not to attempt to "play" Washington. President Trump struck a harder note still, warning that Iran had few cards left and that military action could resume if the talks collapsed, while also claiming the US had begun "clearing out" the Strait of Hormuz.

The path to Islamabad was itself fraught. Iran had threatened to boycott the talks unless Israeli strikes in Lebanon ceased, with Ghalibaf saying as recently as Friday evening that a Lebanon ceasefire and the release of frozen assets were preconditions that "must be fulfilled before negotiations begin." A last-minute reduction in Israeli strikes eased that impasse sufficiently for the Iranian delegation to travel, though Lebanon remained a live flashpoint: at least three people were killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday alone, and Hezbollah MPs condemned any direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon as a constitutional violation. Iran continues to insist that any ceasefire must encompass all fronts, a position the US and Israel have so far refused to accept.

The stakes extend well beyond the immediate conflict. The war has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, nearly 2,000 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel, and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states, while causing widespread infrastructure damage across the region. Brent crude was trading above $94 per barrel on Saturday, more than 30 percent higher than before the war began, and European aviation authorities warned of a systemic jet fuel shortage within three weeks if the Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly a fifth of the world's traded oil normally flows — remains blocked. Chinese, Egyptian, Saudi, and Qatari officials were also reported to be in Islamabad to facilitate the process informally. Analysts cautioned against expecting a breakthrough in the initial two-day session, viewing the talks instead as a first step toward establishing a framework for continued negotiations and, at minimum, managing an immediate de-escalation.