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United States Vice President JD Vance has arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan, as part of a US delegation to discuss the end of the US-Iran war.
Dubbed as "Islamabad Talks 2026", the talks are set to kick off on Saturday, April 11, with the US delegation including Vance and President Trump's Middle East envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
As per the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), the US delegation was received by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.
US Chargé d'Affaires Natalie Baker was also present to receive the vice president.
Vance, who departed for Pakistan a day earlier, said that America was looking forward to the negotiation with Iran and expressed hope for a positive outcome.
The talks are taking place during a two-week halt in the US-Israeli war against Iran, which began with attacks on Tehran on February 28.
On early Saturday morning, the Iranian delegation, consisting of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, also arrived in Pakistan to attend the high-stakes negotiation talks with the US.
The Tehran arrival was in crisis, as Iran had conditioned its participation on a halt to attacks in Lebanon, a point Pakistan said was included in the US-Iran ceasefire.
Ghalibaf made clear on Friday evening that Tehran's participation depended on two conditions, a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of Iranian assets frozen abroad, estimated at about $7 billion.
The talks would be the first direct high-level engagement between Washington and Tehran since 1979.
Amid the Islamabad Talks 2025, the capital of the country has been placed under high-security lockdown.
