U.S., Iran Hold Separate Talks with Pakistan PM on Ceasefire

U.S. and Iranian delegations held separate meetings with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad on Saturday, as efforts to transform a fragile two-week ceasefire into a lasting peace agreement faced challenges from ongoing Israeli strikes in Lebanon and deep mutual distrust.

The U.S. group, led by Vice President JD Vance, and the Iranian team, headed by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, each convened individually with Sharif, according to statements from his office and Iranian media. No direct discussions between the American and Iranian sides had been announced by midafternoon. The talks come amid a conflict that began on February 28, triggered by escalating tensions, and has drawn in Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group backed by Iran, which joined the fighting in its early days to support Tehran.

Iran has conditioned progress in the negotiations on an immediate halt to Israeli operations in Lebanon, but Israel has continued its military actions, insisting that the ceasefire with Iran does not extend to its confrontation with Hezbollah. Lebanon's state-run news agency reported that Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on Saturday killed at least three...