The U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance<\/a> and the Iranian one led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf<\/a> were discussing with Pakistan how to advance the ceasefire already threatened by deep disagreements and Israel\u2019s continued attacks against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, whose health ministry said the death toll has surpassed 2,000.<\/p>\n Since the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, the most direct U.S. contact had been in September 2013 when President Obama called newly elected President Hassan Rouhani to discuss Iran\u2019s nuclear program. The recent highest-level meetings were between Secretary of State John Kerry and counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif during negotiations over the program.<\/p>\n Now talks are underway between Vance, a reluctant defender<\/a> of the war who has little diplomatic experience and warned Iran not to \u201ctry and play us,\u201d and Qalibaf, a former commander with Iran\u2019s powerful Revolutionary Guard who has issued some of Iran\u2019s most fiery statements since fighting began.<\/p>\n Iran sets \u2018red lines\u2019 including compensation for strikes<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s state-run news agency said the three-party talks began after Iranian preconditions, including a reduction in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, were met.<\/p>\n Iran doubled down on parts of its earlier proposal, with its delegation telling Iranian state television it had presented some of the plan\u2019s ideas as \u201cred lines\u201d in meetings with Sharif. Those included compensation for damage caused by the U.S.-Israeli strikes that launched the war on Feb. 28 and releasing Iran\u2019s frozen assets.<\/p>\n The war has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, 1,953 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states, and caused lasting damage to infrastructure in half a dozen Middle Eastern countries. Iran\u2019s chokehold on the vital Strait of Hormuz has largely cut off the Persian Gulf and its oil and gas exports from the global economy, sending energy prices soaring.<\/p>\n Hezbollah supporters chant slogans and wave flags and posters during an anti-government protest on Saturday in Beirut.<\/p>\n (Chris McGrath \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n Reflecting the high stakes, officials from the region said Chinese, Egyptian, Saudi and Qatari officials were in Islamabad to indirectly facilitate the talks. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.<\/p>\n In Tehran, residents told the Associated Press they were skeptical yet hopeful about the talks after weeks of airstrikes left destruction across their country of some 93 million people. Some said the path to recovery would be long.<\/p>\n \u201cPeace alone is not enough for our country, because we\u2019ve been hit very hard, there have been huge costs,\u201d 62-year-old Amir Razzai Far said.<\/p>\n In his strongest words yet, Pope Leo XIV denounced the \u201cdelusion of omnipotence\u201d fueling the war.<\/p>\n U.S. sending forces to help mine-clearing on the strait<\/p>\n Ahead of the talks, President Trump accused Iran of using the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for global energy supplies, for extortion, and told reporters Friday it would be opened \u201cwith or without them.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s closure of the strait has proved its biggest strategic advantage in the war. Around a fifth of the world\u2019s traded oil had typically passed through on more than 100 ships a day. Only 12 have been recorded transiting since the ceasefire.<\/p>\n On Saturday, Trump said on social media that the U.S. had begun \u201cclearing out\u201d the strait.<\/p>\n \u201cToday, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon,\u201d U.S. Central Command commander Adm. Brad Cooper later said. The U.S. statement about the destroyers added: \u201cAdditional U.S. forces, including underwater drones, will join the clearance effort in the coming days.\u201d<\/p>\n In this photo released by the Pakistan Foreign Ministry, Iran\u2019s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, center right, and Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, center left, are greeted by Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, right, and Army Chief Field Marshal Gen. Asim Munir, left, upon their arrival at Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on Saturday.<\/p>\n (Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs via Associated Press)<\/p>\n Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said Tehran was entering negotiations with \u201cdeep distrust\u201d after strikes on Iran during previous rounds of talks. Araghchi, part of Iran\u2019s delegation in Pakistan, said Saturday that his country was prepared to retaliate if attacked again.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s 10-point proposal called for a guaranteed end to the war and sought control over the Strait of Hormuz. It included ending fighting against Iran\u2019s \u201cregional allies,\u201d explicitly calling for a halt to Israeli strikes on Hezbollah.<\/p>\n The United States\u2019 15-point proposal includes restricting Iran\u2019s nuclear program and reopening the strait. <\/p>\n Israel and Lebanon will have direct negotiations<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Israel pressed ahead with strikes in Lebanon after saying there is no ceasefire there<\/a>. Iran and Pakistan have disagreed. The Lebanese state-run news agency reported at least three people killed.<\/p>\n Negotiations between Israel and Lebanon are expected to begin Tuesday in Washington, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun\u2019s office said Friday, after Israel\u2019s surprise announcement authorizing talks despite the countries\u2019 lack of official relations.<\/p>\n But thousands in Lebanon protested the planned negotiations, and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he had postponed a planned trip to Washington \u201cin light of the current internal circumstances.\u201d It was not immediately clear what that meant for the talks.<\/p>\n Israel wants Lebanon\u2019s government to assume responsibility for disarming Hezbollah, much like was envisaged in a November 2024 ceasefire<\/a>. But it is unclear whether Lebanon\u2019s army can confiscate weapons from the militant group, which has survived efforts to curb its strength for decades.<\/p>\n Hezbollah joined the war in support of Iran in the opening days. Israel followed with airstrikes and a ground invasion<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Hezbollah](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775939589_958_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775939590_679_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775939590_6_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n