Live updates: US and Iran hold direct peace talks in Pakistan

US Iran peace talks open in Pakistan after Trump orders direct contact

By Muhammad Asghar | GlobalBeat

American and Iranian delegations met in Islamabad on Saturday for their first direct negotiations since President Donald Trump broke off contact in 2018, Pakistani officials confirmed.

The talks began at 10:00 a.m. local time inside the Foreign Ministry compound, according to three diplomats who saw the U.S. team arrive under heavy guard. Both sides sent mid-level envoys rather than foreign ministers, signaling an exploratory phase.

Washington and Tehran have not held face-to-face negotiations on the nuclear file since Trump withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and reimposed sanctions that have cut Iranian oil exports by 80 percent. The meeting, brokered by Pakistan’s military after weeks of back-channel messages, suggests both governments want to test whether economic pressure and regional escalation can be traded for sanctions relief.

Iranian envoy Rashid Alavi entered the building through a side gate, avoiding cameras. U.S. special envoy for Iran, Michael DeTar, led the American side, State Department spokesman Daniel Wilson told reporters in Washington. The agenda remained “limited to nuclear transparency and prisoner releases,” Wilson said, refusing to speculate on wider sanctions relief.

Inside the chamber, negotiators sat across a polished mahogany table that once hosted Indo-Pakistan cease-fire talks. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar opened the session with a ten-minute appeal for “measured expectations,” a participant told GlobalBeat. Dar then left, allowing the adversaries to speak privately while Pakistani diplomats waited in an ante-room.

Iran brought a wish list: unlock $10 billion in frozen oil revenue held in South Korean and Iraqi banks, and carve out waivers for civilian aircraft parts. The United States demanded full access to the Fordow enrichment hall and a roadmap to keep uranium purity below 60 percent, the level Tehran reached last month, two sources briefed on the exchanges said.

Neither side agreed to concessions, but they accepted a follow-up meeting in Oman next month, according to the Pakistani Foreign Office. The decision to continue was conveyed to journalists through a terse one-page statement that avoided the word “agreement.”

Regional markets reacted cautiously. Brent crude dipped 1.2 percent to $73.40 a barrel when rumors of the talks surfaced, then recovered after traders learned no oil-export deal had been struck. Iranian state television ignored the meeting during its main evening bulletin, instead broadcasting a military exercise near the Strait of Hormuz.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning before cameras in occupied Jerusalem. “Any arrangement that leaves Iran with centrifuges spinning is a threat to our existence,” he said, hours after Israeli warplanes struck an airbase near Homs in central Syria. Israeli officials later told Channel 12 they were not informed in advance by Washington, a break from past practice.

Gulf diplomats crowded Islamabad’s Marriott lobby seeking readouts. Saudi Arabia’s ambassador met Iran’s envoy Friday night, while the Emirati chargé collected lobby gossip, hotel staff said. All Gulf states except Qatar have backed tighter sanctions, yet fear spillover if shipping lanes are again targeted.

European signatories to the original 2015 accord welcomed the encounter but cautioned against quick fixes. “We will judge any step by its verifiable impact on Iran’s stockpile,” Germany’s embassy in Islamabad tweeted. France and Britain issued identical language, showing coordinated messaging.

Back in Washington, Republicans criticized the initiative. Senator Tom Cotton called it “Obama-era appeasement,” while House Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul demanded a closed briefing next week. Democratic senators urged the White House to keep Congress informed but stopped short of condemnation, reflecting party divisions ahead of November midterms.

Background

The 2015 nuclear deal capped Iran’s uranium enrichment at 3.67 percent purity, shipped 98 percent of its stockpile abroad, and lifted oil, banking, and shipping sanctions in return. U.N. inspectors praised Iranian compliance until May 2018, when Trump exited the pact and reimposed sweeping penalties. Tehran waited a year before violating limits, each breach calibrated to pressure Europe into offsetting U.S. sanctions that never came.

By 2024 Iran had installed advanced IR-6 centrifuges, enriched uranium to 60 percent, and barred inspectors from two sites. The Biden administration restored partial sanctions waivers for civilian nuclear projects in 2022 but kept Trump’s financial chokehold intact. Indirect talks through Oman collapsed last summer after Iran demanded guarantees that no future U.S. president could again abandon an accord, a condition Washington called unconstitutional.

What’s Next

Omani mediators have proposed Muscat as the venue for a second round during the last week of May, diplomats told GlobalBeat. Oman hosted secret U.S. Iran talks that paved the way to the 2015 deal and retains access to leaders in both capitals. U.S. officials say Trump tolerates the channel because Sultan Haitham maintains close ties with regional hawks, including Netanyahu, allowing messages to travel faster than through European intermediaries.

The outcome hinges on whether Iran will ship enough enriched uranium overseas to buy meaningful sanctions relief before the U.S. election season paralyzes diplomacy. Analysts expect Iran to test U.S. resolve by offering a partial stockpile transfer in exchange for oil-revenue installments, gambling that Trump prefers a bargain to another Middle East escalation that could spike pump prices above $5 a gallon.