By Susannah George and Shaiq Hussain

Iran and the United States are meeting directly in talks underway in Pakistan, according to US and Pakistani officials.

The talks mark the highest level of face-to-face engagement between leaders of the United States and Iran in decades as the two sides seek to end more than six weeks of war.

“The US, Pakistan and Iran are holding a trilateral face-to-face meeting today,” a senior White House official said. A Pakistani official confirmed the White House official’s account.

The negotiations began hours after US Vice President JD Vance arrived to ramped-up security in Islamabad on Saturday morning (local time). Many roads in the Pakistani capital were completely closed to civilian traffic, blocked with metal barricades and razor wire, while others were dotted with police checkpoints.

But despite the heavy security, the mood in Pakistan was jubilant, with banners depicting American, Pakistani and Iranian flags lining the main thoroughfares in Islamabad. At Nur Khan air base outside the capital, after Air Force Two landed, Vance was escorted down a red carpet.

While Iran and the United States traded accusations of ceasefire violations right up until the meetings began, both sides also appeared to signal a strong desire to negotiate an end to the war days after agreeing to a temporary truce.

Causes for optimism

Diplomats in the region cited the makeup of the two delegations as cause for optimism about the prospects of a deal. Both Iran and the US have sent larger, more senior groups of officials to the talks in Pakistan than were sent to nuclear talks between the two sides.

Vance’s presence in particular signals the Trump administration’s seriousness, according to one Western diplomat based in the Persian Gulf. The Vice-President is seen in the region as more supportive of a peace deal because of his past opposition to foreign military intervention, the diplomat said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief the media.

But the diplomat cautioned that even if Saturday’s meeting is successful, the talks are likely to progress slowly as the two sides have numerous intricate issues to resolve.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif initially met the US and Iranian delegations separately Saturday before the direct trilateral talks began. Also present were Pakistani Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar and the head of the army, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.

‘Deep mistrust’ between the two sides

Iran and the United States originally planned to hold “proximity talks” - meaning the delegations would be seated in different rooms - to build confidence, according to Husain Haqqani, a former Pakistani ambassador to the United States. “Any willingness to talk directly should be taken as a positive sign,” he said.

“The talks have started from a point of deep mistrust and unwillingness to talk, so in that sense Pakistan has already accomplished a great deal in bringing the two sides to its capital,” said Haqqani, who is now a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.

The US delegation is headed by Vance who is accompanied by US envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Witkoff and Kushner led talks with Iran over its nuclear programme this year.

The Iranian delegation that arrived in Pakistan late on Friday includes more than a dozen senior officials. Led by Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the delegation also includes Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who took the lead on nuclear talks, several senior security officials and Iran’s central bank governor.

Israel stepped up its attacks on Lebanon after President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran. Israel says it will observe the ceasefire with Iran but insists Lebanon was not included in the deal. Photo / Getty Images

‘Clearing out the strait’

Despite Iran and the United States agreeing to a two-week ceasefire Tuesday, the two sides have clashed on some of the truce’s central terms. Trump has criticised Iran for not reopening the Strait of Hormuz to more maritime traffic and on Saturday said in a social media post, “we’re now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz as a favor to Countries all over the World”.

US Central Command later announced the start of mine-clearing operations in the strait. Two US military ships, the USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. and the USS Michael Murphy, both guided missile destroyers, “transited the Strait of Hormuz and operated in the Arabian Gulf as part of a broader mission to ensure the strait is fully clear of sea mines”.

Iran has accused the United States of violating the ceasefire by not preventing continued Israeli attacks in Lebanon, saying that front was covered by the ceasefire as well.

Ghalibaf said Friday that two measures “mutually agreed upon between the parties have yet to be implemented” - a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of blocked Iranian assets. “These two matters must be fulfilled before negotiations begin,” he said in an X post.

Earlier in the war, Iranian leaders said Tehran would only agree to stop fighting if it received assurances that the United States would not attack again, including the payment of reparations for war-related damage. That demand is included in Iran’s 10-point plan to end the war that was released by Iranian state-run media this week.

The plan calls for Iran to remain in control of the Strait of Hormuz and the withdrawal of US forces from military bases in the Middle East, both likely problematic for the United States. But Trump has called the outline “a workable basis on which to negotiate”.

Less is known about the Trump administration’s position going into the talks. The administration says it sent a 15-point plan to Tehran last month, but it hasn’t been made public. Officials speaking on the condition of anonymity have detailed the points to the Washington Post, saying it offers extensive sanctions relief in return for the removal of all enriched uranium from Iran and strict limits to its nuclear and missile programmes, among other provisions.

Before talks began Saturday, Sharif said in a national address Friday that negotiations were entering a difficult phase as the two delegations attempted to build on the temporary truce to form a lasting agreement. The ceasefire he said, was at a “make or break” moment.

Alex Horton contributed to this report.