Efforts to reach peace agreement to end war
ISLAMABAD, Apr 11:
A US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance held historic face-to-face talks with top Iranian negotiators in Pakistan on Saturday to reach a peace agreement to end the war in West Asia that has paralysed global energy markets and disrupted trade.
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The Pakistan-brokered talks the first direct, high-level engagement between the two sides since the 1979 Islamic Revolution are being watched globally amid increasing expectations of a breakthrough.
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Ahead of the trilateral negotiations in Islamabad, the Vance-led US team and the Iranian delegation headed by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf held separate meetings with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“After Pakistan PM Sharif held separate meetings with both the delegations, formal round of direct negotiations between Iran and the United States has officially begun,” a senior Pakistani official told PTI.
Pakistan’s state-run PTV said Iranian and US officials sat across the table for “landmark peace negotiations.” The format of the talks was not very clear.
The official cited above said the Pakistan Foreign Office is likely to issue a statement after the conclusion of the first round of talks between the two warring parties.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that the negotiations have moved beyond general issues and entered technical-level discussions on “certain topics”.
While Vance is accompanied by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, the Ghalibaf-led Iranian delegation comprised Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Supreme National Defence Council Secretary Ali Akbar Ahmadian and Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati.
The two sides travelled to Islamabad on Saturday for the talks, four days after Iran and the US announced a two-week ceasefire. However, a massive wave of Israeli strikes on Lebanon, killing more than 300 people, has left the truce in tatters.
While Tehran claimed the assault violated the terms of the ceasefire understanding, the US and Israel said Lebanon was not part of the deal.
Earlier, both delegations were received at the Nur Khan airbase by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Interior Minister Mohsin Raza Naqvi.
In his meeting with the Iranian delegation, Prime Minister Sharif affirmed Pakistan’s sincere resolve to continue playing its role as a mediator towards achieving meaningful results from the peace talks.
Sharif, during his meeting with the American delegation, expressed hope that the talks between the US and Iran would lead to a durable peace in West Asia.
In a related development, Mohammad Reza Aref, Iran’s first vice president, said the peace talks could produce a deal if the American side worked in the interest of the US in sync with President Trump’s America First approach.
“However, if we face representatives of ‘Israel First’, there will be no deal,” he said on social media.
Aref cautioned that the world will face “greater costs” if there is no peace deal.
Tasnim news agency earlier reported that negotiations between Iran and the US will not begin until Tehran’s “preconditions,” including stopping Israeli hostilities against Lebanon and the de-freezing of Iranian assets, are met.
Quoting an “informed source”, it later claimed that the American side has agreed to release Iran’s frozen assets. However, there is no confirmation yet on the report.
The US delegation also comprised Andrew Baker, the Deputy National Security Advisor to the President, and Michael Vance, Special Advisor to the Vice President for Asian Affairs.
A full suite of US experts on relevant subject areas is present in Islamabad, according to US officials.
Earlier, Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf shared a photo from inside the aeroplane while en route to Pakistan. In the photograph, he is seen standing in front of images of the Minab School students killed in strikes, which were placed on the aeroplane seats.
“My companions on this flight – Minab 168,” Ghalibaf posted on social media with the photograph.
President Trump has already cautioned that the US will resume its military action against Iran if the talks do not produce a peace deal.
Before departing for Pakistan, Vance said he was looking forward to the negotiations and hoped they would be “positive”.
“As the US president said, if the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we’re certainly willing to extend an open hand. If they’re going to try to play us, they’re going to find that the negotiating team is not that receptive,” Vance said before boarding his plane for Islamabad.
After arriving in Islamabad early Saturday, Ghalibaf told reporters about the issue of trust with the US, reminding them of Iran’s past experience with that country.
“Twice within less than a year, in the middle of negotiations, and despite the Iranian side’s good faith, they attacked us,” he said, adding: “We have goodwill, but we do not have trust (in Americans).”
He said if the American side is ready for a “genuine agreement,” then it would see Tehran’s readiness for it. (PTI)
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