By MUNIR AHMED, SAM METZ, E. EDUARDO CASTILLO and SAMY MAGDY<\/p>\n
ISLAMABAD (AP) \u2014 The United States and Iran began negotiations Saturday in Pakistan, days after a fragile, two-week ceasefire was announced, as the war that has killed thousands of people and shaken global markets entered its seventh week.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s state-run news agency said three-party talks had begun after Iran preconditions, including a reduction in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, were met, and after U.S. and Iranian officials met separately with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. There were no immediate further details, nor U.S. comment.<\/p>\n
The U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance<\/a> and the Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf<\/a> were discussing how to advance the ceasefire already threatened by deep disagreements and Israel\u2019s continued attacks against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.<\/p>\n \u201cI cannot say whether they are sitting in the same room or in separate rooms, but talks have started and are progressing well,\u201d said one Pakistani official with knowledge of the peace efforts, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.<\/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. 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<\/a>. Attacks have caused lasting damage on infrastructure in half a dozen countries in the Middle East.<\/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 Meanwhile, Israel pressed ahead with strikes in Lebanon. The Lebanese state-run news agency reported at least three people killed. There were no reported strikes in the afternoon.<\/p>\n Officials posture over key issues ahead of talks<\/p>\n U.S. and Iranian officials claimed leverage and issued new demands and preconditions as talks approached. President Donald Trump posted repeatedly on social media leading up to Saturday, saying Iranian officials \u201chave no cards\u201d to negotiate with.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n He accused Iran of using the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, a key artery for global energy supplies, for extortion, and told reporters Friday it would be opened \u201cwith or without them.\u201d<\/p>\n On Saturday, Trump said on social media that the U.S. had begun \u201cclearing out\u201d the strait, but it was unclear whether he was referring to the reported use of mines there or Iran\u2019s broader ability to control the area.<\/p>\n Islamabad was deserted as security forces sealed roads and authorities urged residents to stay inside.<\/p>\n Vance said Friday that the U.S. was optimistic about the talks, but warned: \u201cIf they\u2019re going to try and play us, then they\u2019re going to find that the negotiating team is not that receptive.\u201d<\/p>\n Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said Tehran was entering negotiations with \u201cdeep distrust\u201d after strikes<\/a> on Iran during previous rounds of talks. Araghchi, who is part of Iran\u2019s delegation in Pakistan, said Saturday that his country was prepared to retaliate if attacked again.<\/p>\n Iran and the United States outlined competing proposals ahead of the talks reflecting the wide gulf on key issues.<\/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 Negotiations between Israel and Lebanon are expected to begin Tuesday in Washington, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun\u2019s office said Friday.<\/p>\n Israel wants the Lebanese 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 establish a monopoly on arms or confiscate weapons from the militant group, which has survived efforts to curb its strength for decades.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s insistence that the ceasefire in Iran does not include a pause<\/a> in its fighting with Hezbollah has threatened to sink the deal. The militant group joined the war in support of Iran in the opening days of the war.<\/p>\n The day the truce was announced, Israel pounded Beirut with airstrikes<\/a>, killing more than 300 people in the deadliest day in the country since the war began, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.<\/p>\n Strait of Hormuz remains a sticking point<\/p>\n