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Historic US-Iran direct talks begin in Pakistan as war’s fragile ceasefire holds
1 of 9 | An Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf has arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan, for talks with the United States, with the U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance. On Saturday, Iranians in Tehran reacted to the talks.
2 of 9 | The ceasefire brokered by Pakistan still faces hurdles in the talks beginning Saturday, as Israel and Hezbollah militants have been trading fire along the border of southern Lebanon and Iran has set conditions before negotiations can begin.
3 of 9 | The high-level talks between the US and Iranian representatives mark the first such meeting since the war began more than a month ago that will test whether they can shore up a fragile ceasefire and pave the way for peace.
4 of 9 | Negotiations have begun between the United States and Iran in Pakistan, days after a fragile, two-week ceasefire was announced. A U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance and an Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf each met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier Saturday.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance meets with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Saturday, April 11, 2026, in Islamabad, for talks about Iran. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
5 of 9 | U.S. Vice President JD Vance meets with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Saturday, April 11, 2026, in Islamabad, for talks about Iran. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
In this photo released by the Pakistan Prime Minister Office, Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, left, meets with hand with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, April 11, 2026 (Pakistan Prime Minister Office via AP)
6 of 9 | In this photo released by the Pakistan Prime Minister Office, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, left, meets with hand with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, April 11, 2026 (Pakistan Prime Minister Office via AP)
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, center, walks with Pakistan's Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir, left, and Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar after arriving for talks with Iranian officials in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
7 of 9 | U.S. Vice President JD Vance, center, walks with Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir, left, and Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar after arriving for talks with Iranian officials in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
Colleagues mourn over the coffins during the funeral of 13 state security officers killed the previous day in an Israeli strike in the Lebanese coastal city of Sidon, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
8 of 9 | Colleagues mourn over the coffins during the funeral of 13 state security officers killed the previous day in an Israeli strike in the Lebanese coastal city of Sidon, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, meets with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, not pictured, about Iran, Saturday, April 11, 2026, in Islamabad. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
9 of 9 | Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, meets with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, not pictured, about Iran, Saturday, April 11, 2026, in Islamabad. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
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By MUNIR AHMED, SAM METZ, E. EDUARDO CASTILLO and SAMY MAGDY
Updated 8:23 PM GMT+3, April 11, 2026
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ISLAMABAD (AP) — The United States and Iran began historic face-to-face negotiations Saturday in Pakistan, days after a fragile, two-week ceasefire was announced, as the war that has killed thousands of people and shaken global markets entered its seventh week.
The White House confirmed the direct nature of the talks, a rare instance of high-level engagement.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military said two destroyers transited the Iran-gripped Strait of Hormuz ahead of mine-clearing work, a first since the war began. Iran’s state media, however, earlier said Iran forced a U.S. military ship that was attempting to cross the strait to turn around.
Iran’s state-run news agency said three-party talks including Pakistan began after Iranian preconditions, including a reduction in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, were met, and after U.S. and Iranian officials met separately with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance and the Iranian one led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf were discussing how to advance the ceasefire already threatened by deep disagreements and Israel’s continued attacks against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, whose health ministry said the death toll had surpassed 2,000.
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Since the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, the most direct U.S. contact had been in 2013 when President Barack Obama called newly elected President Hassan Rouhani to discuss Iran’s nuclear program. The most recent highest-level meetings were between Secretary of State John Kerry and counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif during negotiations over the program.
Now talks are underway between Vance, a reluctant defender of the war who has little diplomatic experience and warned Iran not to “try and play us,” and Qalibaf, a former commander with Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard who has issued some of Iran’s most fiery statements since fighting began.
Iran sets ‘red lines’ including compensation for strikes
Iran doubled down on parts of its earlier proposal, with its delegation telling Iranian state television it had presented some of the plan’s ideas as “red lines” in meetings with Sharif. Those included compensation for damage caused by U.S.-Israeli strikes that launched the war on Feb. 28 and releasing Iran’s frozen assets.
The war has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, 2,020 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states, and caused lasting damage to infrastructure in half a dozen Middle Eastern countries. Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz has largely cut off the Persian Gulf and its oil and gas exports from the global economy, sending energy prices soaring.
Reflecting the high stakes, officials from the region said Chinese, Egyptian, Saudi and Qatari officials were in Islamabad to indirectly facilitate the talks. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.
In Tehran, residents told The Associated Press they were skeptical yet hopeful about the talks after weeks of airstrikes left destruction across their country of some 93 million people. Some said the path to recovery would be long.
“Peace alone is not enough for our country, because we’ve been hit very hard, there have been huge costs,” 62-year-old Amir Razzai Far said.
Meanwhile, Israel pressed ahead with strikes in Lebanon after saying there is no ceasefire there. Iran and Pakistan have disagreed. The Lebanese state-run news agency reported at least three people killed.
And in his strongest words yet, Pope Leo XIV denounced the “delusion of omnipotence” fueling the war.
Officials posture over key issues ahead of talks
Ahead of the talks, President Donald Trump accused Iran of using the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for global energy supplies, for extortion, and told reporters Friday it would be opened “with or without them.”
Iran’s closure of the strait has proved its biggest strategic advantage in the war. Around a fifth of the world’s traded oil had typically passed through on over 100 ships a day. Only 12 have been recorded transiting since the ceasefire.
On Saturday, Trump said on social media that the U.S. had begun “clearing out” the strait.
“Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon,” U.S. Central Command commander Adm. Brad Cooper later said in the U.S. statement about the destroyers. It added: “Additional U.S. forces, including underwater drones, will join the clearance effort in the coming days.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said Tehran was entering negotiations with “deep distrust” after strikes on Iran during previous rounds of talks. Araghchi, part of Iran’s delegation in Pakistan, said Saturday that his country was prepared to retaliate if attacked again.
Iran and the United States outlined competing proposals ahead of the talks.
Iran’s 10-point proposal called for a guaranteed end to the war and sought control over the Strait of Hormuz. It included ending fighting against Iran’s “regional allies,” explicitly calling for a halt to Israeli strikes on Hezbollah.
The United States’ 15-point proposal includes restricting Iran’s nuclear program and reopening the strait.
Israel and Lebanon will have direct negotiations
Negotiations between Israel and Lebanon are expected to begin Tuesday in Washington, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s office said Friday, after Israel’s surprise announcement authorizing talks despite the countries lack of official relations.
But thousands in Lebanon protested the planned negotiations, and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he had postponed a planned trip to Washington “in light of the current internal circumstances.” It was not immediately clear what that meant for the talks.
Israel wants the Lebanese government to assume responsibility for disarming Hezbollah, much like was envisaged in a November 2024 ceasefire. But it is unclear whether Lebanon’s army can confiscate weapons from the militant group, which has survived efforts to curb its strength for decades.
Israel’s insistence that the ceasefire in Iran does not include a pause in its fighting with Hezbollah has threatened to sink the deal. The militant group joined the war in support of Iran in the opening days. Israel followed up with airstrikes and a ground invasion.
The day the Iran ceasefire deal was announced, Israel pounded Beirut with airstrikes, killing more than 300 people in the deadliest day in Lebanon since the war began, according to the country’s Health Ministry.
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Metz reported from Jerusalem, Castillo from Beijing and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writer Josh Boak contributed.
SAM METZ
Metz covers Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and points beyond for The Associated Press.
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SAMY MAGDY
Magdy is a Middle East reporter for The Associated Press, based in Cairo. He focuses on conflict, migration and human rights abuses.
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