Possible extension of Islamabad negotiations between Tehran and Washington

Local Iranian media reported on Saturday that negotiations aimed at ending the war between Tehran and Washington have begun in Pakistan under Islamabad's mediation.

Fars and Tasnim news agencies pointed to "progress made during the talks and the reduction of the attacks of the Zionist regime in the southern suburbs of Beirut," which Tehran had stipulated before the start of the talks, explaining that "it was decided to start negotiations between Iran and the United States in Islamabad," without specifying their schedule or whether they were direct or indirect.

Mehr and ISNA published the same information after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the start of talks, after the two delegations received separately.

A Pakistani source told Reuters that the trilateral talks took place face-to-face between Witkoff, Vance, Kushner, Qalibaf and Araqchi, and the Pakistani army chief.

For his part, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said that his country has submitted its 10-point proposal to Pakistan, the mediator country and host of the talks with the United States.

This came in remarks he made to Iranian state television on Saturday, in which he confirmed that his country has conveyed its proposals to Pakistan, adding: "We hope to exit the diplomatic track with our heads held high," noting that his country continues to move diplomatically, but at the same time is also on military alert.

They are closely following any possible ceasefire violations and are in contact with the Iranian embassy in Lebanon, he said.

For its part, Iranian state television said Tehran had set its "red lines" in the negotiations taking place through Pakistan, which include "control of the Strait of Hormuz, reparations for the war, the release of frozen assets, and the achievement of a real and stable ceasefire in the areas concerned."

Ahead of the start of negotiations on Saturday, both the Iranian and U.S. delegations held separate meetings with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

At dawn on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, Trump announced the agreement to halt strikes against Iran for two weeks, but he made this conditional on the full and immediate opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and  on February 28, Israel and the United States began a war on Iran that left thousands dead and wounded , while Iran responded by bombing Israel and infrastructure in the Gulf countries that it said were American interests and bases.