The United States and Iran will hold direct talks in Islamabad on Friday, with Vice President JD Vance leading the American delegation and Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf heading the Iranian side, Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency (ISNA) reported.
The negotiations follow a dramatic two-week ceasefire announced late Tuesday that pulled both countries back from the brink of a wider war.
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According to ISNA, Iran is bringing a structured 10-article proposal framework covering its nuclear programme, regional security, and the sweeping primary and secondary sanctions imposed on Tehran over nearly 45 years.
The inclusion of sanctions dating back to the 1979 hostage crisis signals that Iran is seeking a far wider settlement than the narrow nuclear agreements previously attempted.
Ghalibaf, 63, is a former commander in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who also served as mayor of Tehran for over a decade. His appointment as lead negotiator signals that Tehran is treating the Islamabad talks as a matter of high political priority. Vance's presence on the American side equally indicates that the White House is investing direct authority in the outcome.
The talks are the direct product of a ceasefire brokered by Pakistan just hours before a Trump-imposed deadline on Tuesday night. Trump agreed to suspend the bombing of Iran for two weeks, contingent on Iran agreeing to the complete, immediate and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed Tehran's acceptance, saying Iran would allow "safe passage" through the strait during the two-week window.
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Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who brokered the ceasefire, said it would take effect immediately and includes "Lebanon and elsewhere," and extended an invitation to both delegations to come to Islamabad to "settle all disputes." Israel, however, disputed the Lebanon dimension. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the ceasefire does not include Lebanon, where Israeli forces are engaged in a ground operation against Hezbollah.
On the other hand, Iran's Supreme National Security Council confirmed the ceasefire but framed it as a victory, saying "nearly all of the war's objectives have been achieved." It also warned that "our hands remain upon the trigger, and should the slightest error be committed by the enemy, it shall be met with full force."
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