ISLAMABAD, 13 April. - (ANA) - Senior US and Iranian leaders were in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Saturday for negotiations to end the six-week-old war, although Iran said talks could not begin without commitments on Lebanon and sanctions, casting doubt on the process.

 

The US delegation, led by Vice President JD Vance and including President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, landed in two US air force planes at an air base in Islamabad on Saturday morning, where they were received by Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.

 

The Iranian delegation, led by ‌parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, arrived on Friday.

 

Qalibaf said on X that Washington had previously agreed to unblock Iranian assets and to a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israeli attacks have killed nearly 2,000 people since the start of the fighting in March. He said talks would not start until those pledges were fulfilled.

 

Iran's state broadcaster said the Iranian delegation would meet Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif around noon local time (0700 GMT) to determine the timing and manner of "possible negotiations".

 

Israel and the US have said that the war on Lebanon is not part of the Iran-US ceasefire, while Tehran insists it is.

 

Qalibaf said separately that Iran was ready to reach a deal if Washington offered what he described as a genuine agreement and granted Iran its rights, Iranian state media reported.

 

The White House did not immediately comment on the Iranian negotiating position, but Trump posted on social media that the "only reason the Iranians were alive" was to negotiate a deal. 

 

However, the talks ended in failure and nothing has been achieved despite the fact that the two sides were on the verge of reaching a compromise. - (ANA) -

 

 

AB/ANA/13 April 2026 - - -