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Israel Iran Conflict
The Iran-US peace talks were conducted first indirectly through Pakistan and later through direct negotiations between the two sides, official sources said on Sunday. Pakistan remained involved at every stage of the process, with the talks beginning with separate meetings of the US and Iranian delegations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday. This was followed by an exchange of messages between the two sides through Pakistani interlocutors, the sources said. The Iranian delegation was led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqir Galibaf, while the US team was headed by Vice President JD Vance. According to sources, the negotiations then moved to direct talks between the visiting delegations, which continued for about two-and-a-half hours in the presence of Pakistani officials. In the next phase, a one-hour break was taken and technical aspects of the demands presented by the two sides were discussed at the expert level. The exchange of messages on technical aspects continued
Pakistan on Sunday said it will continue to facilitate talks between the US and Iran, while urging both sides to uphold the ceasefire. In a brief statement to the media after marathon negotiations between the US and Iran ended without a breakthrough, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said Pakistan has helped mediate several rounds of "intense and constructive" discussions over the past 24 hours. "I, along with the Defence Forces Army Chief Field Marshal Syed Sim Munir, helped mediate several rounds of intense and constructive negotiations between the two sides that continued through the last 24 hours and ended this morning," he said. Expressing hope for progress, Dar said both sides should maintain a positive spirit to achieve durable peace and regional stability. "It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to the ceasefire," he said. Dar said Pakistan would continue to play its role in facilitating engagement and dialogue between Iran
A spokesperson for Iran's joint military command has denied an earlier claim by the US that two Navy destroyers transited the Strait Of Hormuz, adding that "initiative over the passage of any vessel rests with the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran", according to Iran's state-media. The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20 per cent of all oil and natural gas traded once passed, is expected to be one of the most challenging points of negotiations between the US and Iran, currently taking place in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. Earlier, the US military said two destroyers transited the Iran-gripped waterway ahead of mine-clearing work, a first since the war began. Iran's state media, however, said Iran forced a US military ship that was attempting to cross the strait to turn around.
With the United States and Iran continuing their historic face-to-face negotiations early Sunday in Pakistan, President Donald Trump claimed military victory against Iran and downplayed the importance of the ongoing ceasefire talks involving Vice President J D Vance because "regardless what happens, we win". Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump said, "Let's see what happens maybe they make a deal, maybe they don't." "It doesn't matter. From the standpoint of America, we win." Trump also acknowledged "very deep negotiations" with Iran. But he also said the US military was searching for mines in the Strait of Hormuz, which still remained effectively closed to most freighters carrying oil and natural gas out of the Persian Gulf. The United States and Iran are currently holding historic face-to-face negotiations in Islamabad, days after a fragile, two-week ceasefire was announced, as the war that has killed thousands of people and shaken global markets entered its seve
The United States and Iran concluded a third round of historic, face-to-face negotiations before dawn on Sunday in Pakistan, days after a fragile, two-week ceasefire was announced, as the war that has killed thousands of people and shaken global markets entered its seventh week. Two Pakistani officials said discussions between the heads of the delegations will resume after a break. Some technical personnel from both teams are still meeting, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the press. Meanwhile, the US military said two destroyers transited the Iran-gripped Strait of Hormuz ahead of mine-clearing work, a first since the war began. Iran's state media, however, said the joint military command denied that. "We're sweeping the strait. Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me," Trump told journalists as talks continued. He called the negotiations "very deep." Iranian state TV noted what it called "serious" .
Direct negotiations between the United States and Iran have officially commenced in Islamabad to find a lasting solution to the West Asia conflict, Pakistan's state media and a government official said. "After Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held separate meetings with delegations from the United States and Iran, formal round of direct negotiations between Iran and the United States has officially begun on Saturday evening," a senior official of the Shehbaz administration told PTI. "Iran and the United States sit at one table -- landmark peace negotiations between Iran and the United States have begun in Islamabad, where both sides are sitting face-to-face for the first time after heightened tensions," Pakistan TV said. It further said the arrival of high-level delegations, Pakistan's effective diplomacy, and positive statements from global leaders have strengthened hopes for a ceasefire and lasting peace in the region, while the world watches closely for the outcome of these
The death toll in Lebanon from Israeli strikes in the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah has risen to 2,020, the Lebanese health ministry said Saturday. The death toll from nearly six weeks of war includes 248 women,165 children and 85 health workers, the ministry said. Another 6,436 people have been wounded. Nearly 100 people were killed in the past 24 hours. The Iran-backed Lebanese militant group fired missiles into Israel on March 2 in retaliation for the US-Israeli attacks on Iran. A tentative truce is now in place in Iran, but the US and Israel say the agreement does not apply to Lebanon, while Tehran says it does. The question is likely to be one of the thornier points in the US-Iran ceasefire negotiations now underway in Pakistan.
The Israeli military said its air force hit infrastructure of the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon and was continuing to support its ground forces operating in southern Lebanon. The statement came as Teheran was pressing for a halt to Israeli strikes on Hezbollah in three-party talks that began Saturday afternoon between Iran and the US in Pakistan. Earlier Saturday, the Lebanese state-run news agency reported at least three people killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon. There were no reported strikes in the afternoon hours. In Israeli communities along the border with Lebanon sirens continued to warn of drone and rocket attacks from Lebanon throughout the day Saturday. There were no reports of injuries.
The Trump administration has revoked the green cards of more long-term Iranian residents of the United States who are related to current or former senior Iranian officials. The State Department said Saturday it had taken action against Seyed Eissa Hashemi, a Los Angeles-area psychology teacher, his wife and son, all of whom were Iranian born lawful permanent residents of the US. The department said in a statement released as talks to end the war with Iran were getting underway in Pakistan that they had been taken into custody by immigration authorities and are slated for deportation. Hashemi, it said, is the son of Masoumeh Ebtekar who served as a spokeswoman for the attackers who took over the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and was later promoted to be Iran's first female vice president. Just last week, the State Department revoked the green cards of the niece and grand-niece of former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps chief Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike in Baghd
An India-flagged liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker, Jag Vikram, has crossed the Strait of Hormuz, marking the first such transit by an Indian vessel since a temporary two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran was announced, according to ship-tracking data. The tanker moved through the strategic waterway between Friday night and Saturday morning and was located in the Gulf of Oman, east of the Strait on Saturday afternoon, proceeding eastwards. Jag Vikram is the ninth Indian vessel to exit the Persian Gulf since early March, while about 15 India-flagged ships remain in the region, awaiting passage. Owned by Mumbai-based Great Eastern Shipping Company, Jag Vikram is a mid-sized gas carrier with a deadweight capacity of over 26,000 tonnes. Trade sources estimate it could be carrying around 20,000 tonnes of LPG. At least 28 India-flagged vessels were in the Strait of Hormuz region when the West Asia conflict erupted, including 24 on the western side and four on the east