A direct three-way meeting between U.S., Iran and Pakistan began in Islamabad after progress in earlier indirect discussions, Pakistani government officials and Iran’s IRNA news agency said.
The face-to-face talks began after a reduction in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon and other preconditions being met, the state-run news agency said.
According to Iranian media reports, the Iranian delegation decided to begin talks with their U.S. counterparts after meeting with their Pakistani host, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who also sat down with U.S. Vice President JD Vance.
The Iranian delegation is led by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Vance was accompanied by White House envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
"Commending the commitment of both delegations to engage constructively, the Prime Minister expressed the hope that these talks would serve as a stepping stone toward durable peace in the region," Sharif's office said.
