The United States, Pakistan, and Iran began trilateral talks on Saturday, April 11, 2026 in Islamabad to end the war that was launched on February 28 by the Israeli-American offensive on Iran. A senior White House official clarified that the three parties were in direct discussions, a departure from the recent practice of Washington and Tehran negotiating only through a mediator in separate rooms.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, received the two delegations separately before the start of the talks. The U.S. delegation included Vice President J.D. Vance, envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, as per the White House. On the Iranian side, a photograph released by the Pakistani government showed the presence of Parliament President Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Iranian state television stated that two peace negotiation sessions took place on Saturday, with a third expected to occur “probably tonight or tomorrow” Sunday. The television mentioned that experts from both sides were exchanging views under Pakistan’s mediation, highlighting the country’s special ties with Iran in reaching a peace agreement beyond the two-week ceasefire that came into effect on Wednesday.
Two U.S. destroyers reportedly passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a major point of contention related to the conflict. Although there was no information on negotiations in Pakistan on this issue, the U.S. military command for the Middle East (Centcom) confirmed that two American naval ships crossed the strait on Saturday. This statement was denied by a spokesman for the Iranian armed forces, as reported by the Iranian news agency Fars. The ships were said to be part of a broader mission to clear the strait of marine mines previously laid by Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
At the start of discussions, Iranian media mentioned progress made during the talks, including a decrease in attacks by the Israeli regime in southern Beirut, Lebanon. This comes as the Israeli military announced hitting over 200 targets of the Hezbollah Islamist movement, an ally of Tehran, in Lebanon in the past 24 hours. Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon were ongoing to support ground forces.
Negotiations between Israel and Lebanon are scheduled in Washington on Tuesday, as Israeli airstrikes have killed 2,020 people since March 2, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health on Saturday. The latest toll includes 248 women, 165 children, 85 medical and rescue staff, with 6,436 injured.
