Islamabad – Top American and Iranian officials met on Saturday in Islamabad for high-level talks between Washington and Tehran, marking the first direct talks between the two countries in half a century. The aim was to end their six-week conflict.
The direct talks involved US Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner on one side, and Iranian Parliament President Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the other. The talks lasted two hours before a break was taken. The Pakistani army chief was also present.
Initially, there were conflicting reports about what had been agreed upon during the talks.
A senior US official told Axios that several US Navy ships had crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, which Iran’s blockade had caused significant disruptions in global energy supply. However, the Iranian state television and a Pakistani source denied the presence of any US ship in the region.
“We are now beginning the process of demining the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump wrote on social media, mentioning that 28 Iranian mining ships had been sunk.
Earlier, a top Iranian source mentioned to Reuters that the US had agreed to unfreeze frozen assets held in Qatar and other foreign banks, which was quickly denied by a US official. The high-ranking Iranian source praised this presumed initiative as a “serious sign” in the negotiations.
The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to a request for comment on the frozen assets issue.
These direct talks followed a morning of mediation led by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, where Tehran had set its red lines that Washington needed to accept before face-to-face talks could take place.
Tehran’s agenda includes asserting its authority over the Strait of Hormuz, seeking transit rights and control. The strait is a critical point for about 20% of global oil and natural gas shipments.
Iran also demands a total ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, a condition that it believes should have been part of the initial agreement with the US, even though Israel and the US both denied the inclusion of Lebanon in the ceasefire, attributing the discrepancy to a misunderstanding at the White House.
[Context: The talks in Islamabad focused on resolving the conflict between the US and Iran, addressing issues such as the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and frozen assets. Iranian demands include recognition of authority over the strait and a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.]
[Fact Check: The Strait of Hormuz is indeed a key maritime route, and any disruptions there can have significant global implications for energy supplies and prices.]
