ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Key differences in the positions of Iran and the United States appear to remain, but Pakistan is aiming for what officials describe as a modest but pragmatic outcome from negotiations between the two belligerents scheduled to begin in Islamabad on Saturday.
The goal is to force U.S. and Iranian negotiators to find enough common ground to continue talks.
On Friday, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance will leave Washington for Islamabad, where he will lead a U.S. team that includes President Donald Trump’s chief negotiator Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner. Although Iran has not officially confirmed its delegates for the talks, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf are expected to lead the Iranian team.
These high-level talks come days after the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan, and exactly six weeks after the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran with the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28.
Experts and people close to the mediation effort said there was little hope of a major breakthrough on Saturday. But by setting a more realistic ceiling, an agreement in Islamabad to continue deeper negotiations aimed at finding a durable peace deal, Pakistan hopes it can help build the ceasefire agreement that has led to a global sigh of relief.
Zamir Akram, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United Nations, told Al Jazeera: “Pakistan has succeeded in bringing the parties together. We have decided to bring them to the table. It will now be for the parties to decide whether they are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to reach a final solution.”
He added that the United States and Iran will now aim to secure an agreement to continue dialogue.
“Proximity format”
The US and Iranian delegations will land at Nur Khan Air Base on the outskirts of Islamabad and then drive to the Serena Hotel, where they will stay overnight and hold talks.
Officials said both teams will stay in the same hotel but will not meet face-to-face for negotiations.
Instead, they will sit in two separate rooms and Pakistani officials will pass messages between them.
In diplomatic parlance, such negotiations are known as proximity negotiations.
Pakistan’s experience with such dialogue is not new. In 1988, Islamabad itself participated in the Geneva Accord negotiations for the withdrawal of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan, and indirect UN-mediated negotiations between Pakistan and Afghanistan resulted in a landmark agreement.
Akram, who represented Pakistan at the United Nations in Geneva from 2008 to 2015, said history is relevant.
“Proximity talks have been held before. Pakistan itself participated in the talks held in Geneva on the Afghanistan issue in 1988,” he told Al Jazeera. “If the parties did not trust Pakistan, they would not be here. The criterion for success should be that they agree to continue this process in search of a solution. That is not something that will happen in a few days.”
increase diplomatic momentum
In the days between the announcement of the ceasefire on April 7 and the arrival of the delegation in Islamabad, world leaders moved quickly to register support.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the ceasefire and expressed gratitude for Pakistan’s role. Kazakhstan, Romania and the United Kingdom also issued statements supporting Islamabad’s mediation.
French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the phone, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also met with the Pakistani leader.
Analysts say these calls were not just a gesture of goodwill, but a signal of international support aimed at strengthening Pakistan’s hand in pushing both the United States and Iran to deliver results.
Sharif met with eight world leaders, including the emir of Qatar, the presidents of France and Turkiye, the prime ministers of Italy and Lebanon, the king of Bahrain, and the chancellors of Germany and Austria.
Over the past two days, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, has met with more than a dozen foreign ministers and had direct talks with the Chinese ambassador in Islamabad.
Pakistan’s leadership held a total of more than 25 diplomatic contacts in about 48 hours.
Salma Malik, a strategic studies professor at Quaid-e-Azam University, said the scale of engagement reflects confidence in Pakistan’s role.
“The two major political parties expressed confidence that Pakistan will act as a neutral agent. This is the first and most important litmus test for any intermediary country, and Pakistan has passed it,” she told Al Jazeera.
lebanon issue
The most immediate threat to Saturday’s negotiations lies outside the negotiating table.
Iran has branded Israel’s attack on Lebanon a direct challenge to the ceasefire. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met with Sharif earlier this week and warned that negotiations would be meaningless if the attacks continued.
Hours after the ceasefire was announced, Israel launched the most extensive shelling of Lebanon since the conflict began, killing more than 300 people in Beirut and southern Lebanon in one day.
Foreign Minister Abbas Aragushi said Iran could abandon the ceasefire altogether if attacks continue.
Sharif spoke by phone with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on April 9 and strongly condemned Israel’s actions.
There is still debate as to whether Lebanon is included in the ceasefire. Pakistan insists that the ceasefire agreement covers a wider region, including Lebanon, as reflected in Sharif’s statement earlier this week.
Washington took a different view. US Vice President J.D. Vance, who heads the US delegation, said in Budapest that Lebanon was not covered by ceasefire terms, a position echoed by President Donald Trump and the White House.
Seema Baloch, a former special envoy to Pakistan, said the issue ultimately lies with the US government.
“Lebanon is the key and Israel will use Lebanon to play the role of spoiler,” she told Al Jazeera. “It is now up to the United States to decide whether to allow Israel, which is not at the negotiating table, to play its role.”
However, there are signs of limited easing of tensions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel is ready to begin direct negotiations with Lebanon “as soon as possible” with a focus on disarming Hezbollah and achieving a peace agreement.
This announcement was made in response to pressure from the United States. President Trump told NBC that he asked Prime Minister Netanyahu to be “low-key” regarding Lebanon.
However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear that there is no ceasefire in Lebanon and that Israel will continue to attack Hezbollah while talks progress.
Former Pakistani Foreign Minister Salman Bashir said Lebanon remains within the scope of the ceasefire.
“As mentioned in the prime minister’s statement, Lebanon is heavily involved in the ceasefire,” he told Al Jazeera. “The Israelis may be inclined to maintain pressure on Lebanon, but it does not seem likely to last long if the US is keen on cessation of hostilities.”
obstacles
Beyond Lebanon, several other obstacles remain.
The U.S. government is expected to seek verifiable limits on Iran’s nuclear program, including limits on enrichment and the removal of stockpiled materials.
Tehran, on the other hand, is demanding a complete lifting of sanctions, formal recognition of its right to enrich uranium, and compensation for wartime losses.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas passes during peacetime, remains a key point of tension as Iran retains the ability to disrupt maritime traffic.
Bashir said there could be movement on some of these issues.
“There is a possibility of a hole opening in the Strait of Hormuz, which is under Iranian control. Iran will not give up its enrichment rights. The ceasefire deadline should be extended at all costs,” he told Al Jazeera.
Mohammad Shoaib, a professor of international relations in Islamabad, said progress would depend on movement on core issues.
“The fact that both parties agree on the need to continue or extend the ceasefire, while also agreeing in principle on key points such as the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s right to enrichment, and respect for sovereignty, would indicate that the first round was fruitful and successful,” he told Al Jazeera.
The mood in the region has also been shaped by sharp rhetoric from some of Iran’s Gulf states.
The United Arab Emirates, which has faced hundreds of missile and drone attacks during the conflict, has been one of the most vocal.
Writing in the Wall Street Journal, the ambassador to the United States said a ceasefire alone is not enough and called for a comprehensive outcome that addresses “the full range of threats” posed by Iran.
Meanwhile, on April 7, Bahrain submitted a UN Security Council resolution calling for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The bill received 11 votes in favor, but Russia and China vetoed it, and Pakistan and Colombia abstained.
Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Egypt have no plans to formally attend the talks, despite being closely involved in pre-negotiation diplomacy. The four countries held meetings in Riyadh and later in Islamabad with the aim of ensuring a cessation of hostilities.
Israel, a party to the conflict, will also not be represented. Pakistan, like most Muslim-majority countries, does not recognize Israel and has no diplomatic relations with it.
slight relief
However, there are tentative signs of easing tensions ahead of Saturday’s talks.
As he departed Washington on Friday, Vance said the U.S. team was “looking forward to the negotiations.”
“We think it’s going to be a positive outcome. We’ll see, of course. If the Iranian side is willing to negotiate in good faith, as the American president has said, we will certainly be willing to help,” the U.S. vice president said. “If they try to play us, we will find that the negotiating team is not very receptive, so we will try to negotiate positively.”
He also said President Trump had given the U.S. team “pretty clear guidelines.”
Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister met with Iran’s foreign minister for the first time since the war began.
And Iran’s Supreme Council for National Security said on April 8 that talks could last up to 15 days, suggesting it was prepared for a lengthy process.
Akram, a former special envoy, said the criteria for success were clear.
“What they need to agree on is that they will find a solution, and that in itself will be a step in the right direction,” he told Al Jazeera. “It takes time to find long-term solutions. It’s not a matter of days.”
Islamabad academic Malik said Pakistan’s expectations remained modest.
“What Pakistan is hoping for is a breathing space, a chance for peace. It’s not expecting anything big. It’s a small wish, but it will be very difficult to realize it,” she told Al Jazeera.
