Live updates: Follow the latest news on the Iran war
Negotiations between the US and Iran around the 10-point peace plan put together by Tehran will take place on Saturday in Islamabad.
On the American team will be three key players: Vice President JD Vance, who is expected to lead the delegation, alongside envoys Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
The Iranian team should include Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, but Iran has not issued a statement confirming who will attend.
“The first round of those talks will take place on Saturday morning local time,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing on Wednesday.
The negotiations have a strict deadline as the temporary ceasefire will end in less than two weeks, on April 22.
Pakistani media reported that one of Islamabad’s main hotels, the Serena Hotel, will host the talks, after it was requisitioned by the government for an “important event”.
Iran has already accused the US of violating the 10-point peace plan.
“From the outset, we followed the ongoing process with distrust, and as expected, the United States once again violated its commitments even before negotiations began,” Mr Ghalibaf said on X.
Iran is also considering a 15-point proposal from the US.
While details have not been made public, it is understood to include: Iran committing to no nuclear weapons; handing over its highly enriched uranium; limits on Tehran’s defence capabilities; an end to regional proxy groups; and the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The most important points will be regarding Iran’s enriched uranium, its ballistic missile programme, the lifting of sanctions on the country and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Ms Leavitt said during the press briefing that Iran’s earlier proposal had been rejected by the US and rewritten into a “workable basis” for talks. Uranium enrichment remains Mr Trump’s red line.
Ms Leavitt also indicated that Iran has agreed to “turn over its stocks of enriched uranium”.
Egypt's role
Egyptian sources with direct knowledge of the mediation efforts reported that a broader Iran-Arab reconciliation should also be discussed during the talks, to prevent future conflicts.
Egypt and Pakistan are the guarantors of the temporary ceasefire. Last month, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar hosted counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt for discussions on de-escalating the conflict and then flew to Beijing for further talks.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has been widely viewed as a key partner for Mr Trump in Middle East diplomacy.
The recent negotiation was finalised within eight hours of Mr Trump announcing it, the sources told The National.
The last phase was done without Mr Kushner and Mr Witkoff, after Iran asked for them to leave because of their pro-Israel views, the sources added. After the White House agreed, the ceasefire was secured, they said.
Ms Leavitt specified that Lebanon was not part of the ceasefire framework and not talked about during the talks.
This position was rejected by Mr Araghchi who said in a post on X: “The world sees the massacres in Lebanon. The ball is in the US court, and the world is watching.”
