Vice President JD Vance led a high-powered US delegation into Islamabad Saturday for a historic meeting with the Iranians to try to end the six-week war that has rocked the Middle East.
The two sides hope to resolve disagreements about access to the critical Strait of Hormuz, which has been choked off since the start of the fighting – and over Iran’s nuclear program.
The session marks the highest level in-person talks between the two countries in half a century – since the 1979 Islamic revolution that brought the clerical regime to power.
It’s the first time in more than a decade the Americans and Iranians are in the same room for talks – since the Obama administration negotiated the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (right) and U.S. Vice President JD Vance (left) are in Pakistan for a mediated talk to end the six-week war. via REUTERS
Vice President JD Vance shakes hands with Pakistani officials after arriving in Islamabad, Pakistan, for talks with Iranian negotiators on April 11, 2026. Getty ImagesInitial discussions – with the Pakistanis mediating – lasted for two hours Saturday afternoon at the luxury Serena Hotel in the capital city, before the delegations broke for a rest, a Pakistani source said.
Vance was joined by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, to meet a delegation led by Iran’s Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and the country’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.
The US delegation got to the hotel just after 3:30 p.m. local time.
The Iranians arrived Friday dressed in black to mourn slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, eliminated on the first day of strikes. They carried shoes and bags of students killed during the bombing of a school at the start of the war.
The talks were volatile, according to a Pakistani source.
“There were mood swings from the two sides and the temperature went up and down during the meeting,” the source said.
Some progress was made, but the two sides remain deadlocked over control of the Strait of Hormuz, a source told CNN.
US Vice President JD Vance receiving a bouquet from a young boy in traditional dress upon his arrival in Islamabad. POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesIran is demanding control of the Strait of Hormuz, monetary reparations for the war and a ceasefire that includes Lebanon – a point of contention with the failed temporary ceasefire negotiated Tuesday.
The main goal of the Trump administration is free passage of oil through the strait and the crippling of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program to ensure it can’t produce an atomic bomb.
After a break, the talks resumed after 1 a.m. local time.
“Given the US excessive demands, this may be the Iranian team’s final opportunity for the Americans to reach a shared framework in this round of negotiations,” a report on Iranian state television said.
Trump meanwhile warned that if negotiations don’t go well, the US is prepared to “reset.”
“We’re ready to go,” he told NewsNation in a phone interview late Saturday.
The talks, mediated by Pakistani officials, could be the first direct US-Iran meeting since 2015. APIsrael and Lebanon have separate peace talks planned for next week at the State Department in Washington, DC.
The trio of American officials was joined by a larger delegation, which included Dr. Andrew Baker, the Deputy National Security Advisor to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice President, as well as Michael Vance, the Special Advisor to the Vice President for Asian Affairs.
A full suite of US experts on relevant subject areas is also present in Islamabad, with additional experts supporting from Washington.
