Iran war: US negotiators arrive in Pakistan ahead of peace talks

Iran US peace talks: American negotiators land in Pakistan as 2nd ceasefire push begins

By Muhammad Asghar | GlobalBeat

A US delegation touched down in Islamabad on Friday for Pakistan-brokered talks with Iranian envoys after President Donald Trump authorized a second diplomatic push to halt the 19-day air war that has killed at least 3,400 people.

The team, led by deputy CIA director David Cohen and National Security Council senior director Michael Doran, arrived hours after Tehran signaled it would accept “conditional de-escalation” provided Washington suspends fresh bombing sorties, Pakistani officials told reporters at the military side of the airport.

Islamabad secured the rare face-to-face meeting by guaranteeing transit protection for Iranian negotiators who flew in under Saudi diplomatic cover, underscoring the army’s leverage over land routes that feed both Iranian energy markets and NATO supply lines into Afghanistan, analysts said.

Fighting continued even as the delegations checked into separate hotels. Iranian state TV reported Friday morning raids on Bushehr and Bandar Abbas ports, while the Pentagon confirmed a drone strike near Qom that killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps logistics chief Brig. Gen. Reza Rahimi.

Trump previewed the talks on Truth Social overnight, writing “we are giving peace one more shot” but warning he had “already signed the next wave of targets” should Iran reject US terms. The message echoed Thursday’s Oval Office vow that “the bombing stops when the missiles stop.”

Regional markets reacted cautiously. Brent crude slipped 2% to $103.7 per barrel after spiking above $113 on Wednesday, while Dubai’s main index closed up 1.2% as investors priced in a potential pause. India, however, extended emergency orders diverting 40% of its Basra cargo freight to Russian Urals grades, shipping data showed.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi struck a defiant note upon arrival, telling state television “the resistance will not bargain under fire” yet adding that “if America ends its aggression, diplomacy has a chance.” His Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar escorted the Iranian motorcade from the tarmac, a protocol normally reserved for heads of state.

The opening session began at 2 p.m. local time inside the army’s Joint Staff Headquarters, a neutral venue chosen because neither side maintains an embassy in the other’s capital. Diplomats expect three confidence-building drafts: a 72-hour air-exclusion zone, prisoner exchange lists, and a US pledge to suspend further sanctions on Iranian oil buyers China, Turkey and the UAE.

Casualties mount. Tehran’s emergency services said Friday strikes added 87 deaths, pushing the toll to 3,412 since April 3. Washington puts American losses at 19 airmen, mostly from the April 5 downing of a B-1 bomber over Shiraz. Hospitals in Kermanshah and Ahvaz posted photos showing blood banks at 15% capacity, appealing for regional donations.

European powers welcomed the talks but withheld full endorsement. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesman said London “supports any path that ends rocket attacks on civilians” yet warned Iran must “verifiably” halt transfers of Fateh-110 missiles to Hezbollah units reported near the Israeli frontier. French President Emmanuel Macron dispatched envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian to Muscat to coordinate Gulf cease-monitoring offers.

Israel stayed on the sidelines officially, yet satellite imagery analysts at ImageSat International spotted 12 extra Israeli F-35 jets arriving at Azerbaijan’s Nasosnaya airbase overnight, suggesting preparations for possible follow-up sorties against Iran’s nuclear facilities should diplomacy collapse.

Background

The air war erupted on April 3 when Trump accused Iran of preparing “an imminent swarm attack” against US bases in Qatar and Bahrain, ordering cruise-missile strikes on IRGC command posts in Isfahan. Tehran responded with a barrage of 210 ballistic missiles that cratered runways at Al-Udeid and hit a Patriot battery outside Riyadh, according to Saudi-led coalition logs.

Both leaders had signaled restraint only weeks earlier. In March Trump signed a limited sanctions waiver allowing Iraq to pay $2.8 billion for six months of Iranian electricity, while Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei approved indirect talks in Oman on curbing Houthi Red Sea raids. Observers blame the sudden escalation on intelligence miscalculations: the White House relied on Israeli reports of IRGC transporters loading missiles at Bandar Abbas, a claim later disputed by European military attaches who reviewed radar tapes.

What’s Next

Negotiators have until Sunday night to produce a joint statement before Pakistan closes the protected air corridor, officials said. If talks collapse, Trump aides have prepared executive orders targeting the 17 remaining Iranian banks not yet blacklisted and a blanket maritime insurance ban that would halt the country’s 1.3 million barrels per day of crude exports within 30 days.