A ceasefire to the Iran War entered its fourth day Saturday as Iranian and U.S. delegations met in Islamabad, Pakistan, to try negotiating a settlement to the conflict. These are the highest-level face-to-face talks between the two nations since Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Talks between the U.S. delegation — led by Vice President JD Vance, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner — and Iran’s negotiating team, led by Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, shifted into technical discussions in certain areas, Tasnim News Agency reported. Iranian media said another round of face-to-face talks could take place Saturday night or Sunday.
Although the negotiations were initially planned as a single day session, an extension into Sunday to continue “expert-level discussions” remained possible, though unconfirmed, Tasnim said. The outlet later reported that face-to-face meetings had ended for the day and that negotiators from the U.S. and Iran were exchanging messages.
The Iranian delegation had previously refused to meet directly with the U.S. until the Israelis stopped bombing Lebanon and the U.S. unfroze Iran’s assets. Iran’s state television reported that the U.S. had accepted Iran’s demand for the release of blocked funds, though a U.S. official denied agreeing to unfreeze Iranian assets. A complete halt to Israel’s bombardment in Lebanon did not occur before negotiations began.
Israeli airstrikes continued to hammer Lebanon, targeting civilians and residential structures, including in the town Tefhata, a double-tap airstrike killed at least seven people, according to war correspondents.
A significant stalemate reportedly emerged over control of the Strait of Hormuz, according to two people briefed on the negotiations cited by the Financial Times. Iran has signaled a desire to retain control over the waterway and the right to charge vessels a toll and has not accepted U.S. proposals for joint control, the Financial Times reported.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, President Donald Trump said that “the Strait of Hormuz will soon be open,” adding that “empty ships are rushing to the United States to ‘load up.’”
American media reported that U.S. Navy ships had passed through the Strait of Hormuz for the first time since Iran closed the passage shortly after the war began. On Saturday morning, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “We’re now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz as a favor to Countries all over the World.” U.S. Central Command said that the USS Frank E. Peterson and USS Michael Murphy transited the strait Saturday.
Meanwhile, Fars News reported that a U.S. destroyer had turned back from the strait after an Iranian warning.
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