At the center of the talks is the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic passage for hydrocarbon supply, effectively blocked since the beginning of the conflict.
Senior Iranian and American officials held marathon negotiations on Saturday, which are set to continue on Sunday in Islamabad, in search of an agreement on a sustainable ceasefire in a war that is shaking the global economy.
These discussions, at an unprecedented level between the two enemy countries since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, are taking place in a trilateral format, in the presence of Pakistani officials who facilitated the conclusion of a two-week ceasefire that went into effect on Wednesday.
According to the White House and Iranian media, the first day of negotiations on Saturday lasted nearly 15 hours, extending well beyond midnight. The discussions are being held at a large hotel in the Pakistani capital away from the cohort of foreign journalists covering the event.
The two parties were supposed to take a break for several hours before dawn. “We are in advanced negotiations with Iran. We are winning anyway, we have defeated them militarily,” assured President Trump on Saturday, adding that “he didn’t care” whether an agreement was reached or not.
On the American side, the delegation is led by Vice President JD Vance, accompanied by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, son-in-law of President Donald Trump. Iran is represented by its influential Parliament President Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, as well as Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, heading a delegation of 70 people.
A Pakistani official reassured that “the talks are progressing in the right direction.” No images of the discussions have been released. At the center of the talks is the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic passage for hydrocarbon supply, effectively blocked since the beginning of the conflict, having cascading consequences on the global economy, from shortages to price increases.
Iranian media indicated that the American side had made “excessive” demands on this matter during the discussions. The American military stated on Saturday that two of its destroyers had crossed the Strait of Hormuz in a pre-clearance operation. “We are sweeping the strait,” emphasized Donald Trump.
The Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic of Iran, warned on Sunday that they would take “severe” action against military ships transiting through the strait.
