The diplomatic calendar of this week is moving as fast as the military one did. On Saturday, April 10, delegations from the United States and Iran will sit down together in Islamabad, Pakistan, for the first in-person negotiations of the war — a meeting that, by seniority alone, represents the most significant direct contact between Washington and Tehran in 46 years.
The ceasefire is holding — imperfectly, with ceasefire violations reported and the Lebanon question still unresolved. But the decision to send a delegation led by the Vice President of the United States to meet a senior Iranian official face-to-face reflects a seriousness of diplomatic purpose that marks a genuine turning point in this conflict.
Who Is in the Room
Vice President JD Vance will head the US negotiating team for the peace talks in Islamabad. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed this Wednesday. Vance said in Budapest on Wednesday that President Trump was “impatient to make progress” with Iran and stressed that if Iranian officials did not engage in good faith, “they’re going to find out that President” Trump would respond accordingly.
It is the highest level meeting between the US and Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution, marking a crucial tipping point that could lead either to a durable peace framework or to the resumption and escalation of the war if the high-stakes talks fail. This will be the most significant and challenging mission in Vance’s political career, testing his preference for diplomacy over military escalation.
Iran’s delegation will be led by Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a central figure in Tehran’s wartime leadership structure who has taken on strategic responsibilities since the early phase of the conflict.
Ghalibaf is a former Revolutionary Guard commander, a figure long associated with hardline positions — and someone who, at the start of the war, had promised Iran’s enemies “such devastating blows that you will be begging.”
White House press secretary Leavitt confirmed that US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would also travel to Pakistan for the first round of talks.
Pakistan’s Preparation
Pakistan has declared a two-day public holiday for Islamabad’s Capital Territory ahead of the talks, with essential services — police, hospitals, electricity, and gas — continuing to function. Residents have been advised to plan their activities accordingly. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has confirmed the meeting will take place on April 10, saying the goal is not just a temporary pause but a long-term solution.
Pakistan’s emergence as the primary mediator in the most consequential diplomatic talks in recent memory reflects the country’s careful cultivation of channels to both Washington and Tehran throughout the conflict. It was Pakistan that delivered the US 15-point proposal to Iran, Pakistan that received Iran’s 10-point counter-proposal, and Pakistan’s army chief who worked overnight with Vance and Iran’s foreign minister to frame the ceasefire agreement reached Tuesday.
The Agenda
The Islamabad talks represent the first in-person negotiations between the two adversaries since the war began. Iran’s 10-point proposal, reportedly submitted through Pakistani intermediaries, seeks to address a wide range of contentious issues including the nuclear program, regional security concerns, sanctions relief, and primary and secondary sanctions dating back roughly 45 years. This plan will form the basis of the discussions.
According to Iran’s statement, the 10-point proposal includes recognition of Iran’s right to enrich uranium, the lifting of all sanctions, guarantees against future attacks, an end to wars in the region including Lebanon, a complete end to all aggression, withdrawal of US forces from the region, passage through the Strait of Hormuz with Iranian coordination, and compensation for Iran’s losses.
The Red Lines Already Being Drawn
Even before delegations have landed in Islamabad, both sides are publicly drawing lines they say they will not cross — a pattern that would normally suggest negotiations are close to failure before they begin, but which seasoned diplomats note is also a standard opening posture.
The White House has said the US continues to reject any uranium enrichment inside Iran, reiterating Trump did not agree to a “wish list” from Tehran. Leavitt said Iran’s initial 10-point proposal was “literally thrown in the garbage” by Trump’s team, but Tehran later put forward a revised plan. “The idea that President Trump would ever accept an Iranian wish list as a deal is completely absurd,” she said.
Meanwhile, Iran’s parliament speaker Ghalibaf cast doubt on the talks before they began, saying the US and Israel had already violated the ceasefire in three ways: continuing the war in Lebanon, failing to stop drones from entering Iranian airspace, and denying Tehran’s right to uranium enrichment. “Now, the very ‘workable basis on which to negotiate’ has been openly and clearly violated, even before the negotiations began,” Ghalibaf wrote on X.
The Nuclear Question
According to Raz Zimmt, director of the Iran program at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, “there are three minimum requirements that must be met: the removal of 60 percent enriched uranium from Iran, the dilution of 20 percent enriched material to a low level, and the suspension of uranium enrichment for as many years as possible.” He said: “If these demands — some of which Iran rejected before the war — are accepted, the war can end with at least one significant achievement. If the war ends with these nuclear capabilities still in Iran, it would constitute a major failure.”
The White House has indicated there are grounds for cautious optimism on this point specifically: Leavitt noted that Iran had indicated to the US that it would be willing to turn over its stock of enriched uranium. “That is a red line that the President is not going to back away from, and he’s committed to ensuring that takes place,” she said.
What Success Looks Like on Saturday
A single day of talks in Islamabad cannot resolve everything. What Saturday can produce — at best — is a framework agreement that extends the ceasefire period, establishes shared principles on the nuclear question, narrows the gap on sanctions relief, and creates a mechanism for resolving the Lebanon dispute.
Iran expert Trita Parsi said the terrain has shifted going into Islamabad. “Trump’s failed use of force has blunted the credibility of American military threats, introducing a new dynamic into US-Iran diplomacy,” he said. “Washington can still rattle its sabre. But after a failed war, such threats ring hollow.”
Deep mistrust remains on both sides. Iranian officials have been reported to enter talks with “complete distrust” toward the American side, reflecting skepticism about Washington’s intentions even as both countries seek an end to hostilities.
The world will be watching Islamabad on Saturday. The outcome of this single day of negotiations may shape the Middle East — and global energy markets — for years to come.
