US Vice President JD Vance in Islamabad for ‘make-or-break’ talks with Iran

United States Vice President JD Vance and his delegation arrived in Pakistan on Saturday morning for historic direct talks with the Iranian leadership for the first time in nearly 47 years.
The talks are taking place during a two-week pause in the US-Israeli war against Iran, which began with US-Israeli joint strikes on February 28. The conflict, which spread across the Middle East and sent shockwaves through global economies, halted after Pakistan brokered a two-week temporary ceasefire on April 8.
The US delegation was greeted by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi after disembarking at the Nur Khan Air Base.
In a statement issued upon arrival of the US delegation, the Foreign Office (FO) said that deputy premier Ishaq Dar welcomed JD Vance and “commended US commitment to achieving lasting regional and global peace and stability”.

Ishaq Dr “expressed the hope that parties would engage constructively, and reiterated Pakistan’s desire to continue facilitating the parties towards reaching lasting and durable solution to the conflict”.
Earlier, the Iranian delegation, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and which also includes Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, arrived in Islamabad after a last-minute hurdle over Israeli strikes in Lebanon.
Tehran had conditioned its participation in the “make-or-break” talks to stopping Israeli attacks in Lebanon, a point Pakistan said was included in the US-Iran ceasefire plan.
The US delegation, led by Vance, includes US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
Officials from the US National Security Council, State Department and Department of Defence are accompanying Vance, while advance security, technical and communications teams reached Islamabad earlier in the day.
According to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, other Iranian negotiators include Supreme National Defence Council Secretary Ali Akbar Ahmadian and central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati.
The talks would be the first direct high-level engagement between Washington and Tehran since 1979.
They had come close to being derailed as Iran insisted it would not join negotiations unless Israeli strikes in Lebanon stopped.
Ghalibaf made clear on Friday that Tehran’s participation hinged on two conditions – a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of Iranian assets frozen abroad, estimated at about $7 billion. He said these steps “must be fulfilled before negotiations begin”.
Iran maintains that any ceasefire must extend across all fronts, including Hezbollah, while the US and Israel have treated Lebanon attacks as outside the scope of the truce despite an initial understanding that Lebanon would be part of the ceasefire.
The divergence has repeatedly threatened to unravel the diplomatic track.
Ahead of his departure from Washington, Vance described the expected talks as potentially “positive” and said the US was prepared to negotiate in good faith, while cautioning that Washington would not be “receptive” to what it sees as stalling tactics.
Trump, however, struck a harder note, warning that Iran did not have “many cards” left and that military action could resume if the talks failed. He also criticised Tehran over continued restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which remains a key point of leverage in the standoff.
PM Shehbaz, whose country has played a central role in facilitating the talks, said Pakistan would “try its level best” to ensure their success. He framed the negotiations as an opportunity to resolve “contentious issues through dialogue” but acknowledged the complexity of the task ahead.
The agenda reflects that complexity. While the talks are based on Iran’s 10-point proposal, which was accepted by Washington as a general framework, fundamental differences persist between the two sides.
The US is expected to push for restrictions on Iran’s nuclear programme, including limits on enrichment and possible removal of nuclear material, while Iran is demanding full sanctions relief, recognition of its nuclear rights, a framework for navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and access to frozen funds.
Regional proxy networks, missile ranges and sequencing of concessions remain additional flashpoints.
Officials and analysts believe that the breadth of issues makes it unlikely that substantive breakthroughs will emerge within the initial two-day engagement. At best, the opening round may establish a pathway for continued negotiations or yield limited understandings on immediate de-escalation measures. – News Agencies/wire services/Our Correspondent