JD Vance tipped for key role in Pakistan-backed peace talks with Iran

Tahir Andrabi, a spokesman for Islamabad's foreign ministry, also told reporters: "If the parties desire, Islamabad is always willing to host talks.

"It has consistently advocated for dialogue and diplomacy to promote peace and stability in the region."

Sources in Islamabad have suggested that the US Vice President could be put forward as a chief negotiator to replace traditional diplomatic leads, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Iranian insiders have said that Tehran would refuse to return to talks with the pair, prompting Mr Vance as a potential replacement.

President Trump had told reporters Mr Witkoff and Mr Kushner, who had been negotiating with Iran before the war, had held discussions with a top Iranian official into the evening on Sunday and would continue on Monday.

He said: "We have had very, very strong talks. We'll see where they lead. We have major points of agreement, I would say, almost all points of agreement."

The Israeli military said Iran had launched multiple waves of missiles at Israel overnight, after President Trump postponed the bombing of the Islamic Republic's power plants and other energy infrastructure because of what he described as productive talks with Iranian officials.

The missiles triggered air raid sirens in Israel, including Tel Aviv, where gaping holes were torn through a multi-storey apartment building.

It was not immediately clear if the damage was caused by a direct hit or debris from an interception.

Israel's Fire and Rescue Service said they were searching for civilians trapped in one building in Tel Aviv and discovered civilians in a shelter in another damaged building.

President Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Monday that the US and Iran had held "very good and productive" conversations about a "complete and total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East".

However, Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who an Israeli official and two other sources familiar with the matter said was the interlocutor in the talks on the Iranian side, said no negotiations had taken place.

He said: "No negotiations have been held with the US, and fake news is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped."

Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said they were launching fresh attacks on US targets, and described President Trump's words as "psychological operations" that were "worn out" and having no impact on Tehran's fight.

Overnight, Russia issued a stark warning to Israel, saying the Kremlin would view any spillover of the Iran conflict into the Caspian Sea "extremely negatively."

Israel said last week its military had carried out strikes on the Iranian navy in the Caspian, hitting dozens of targets including missile boats. A military spokesman said Israel had managed to take out Iran's naval capabilities there.

Russia and Iran, which signed a strategic partnership treaty last year, both border the Caspian Sea.

On the state of negotiations between Washington and Tehran, Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin was observing contradictory statements from both parties.

This morning, Tehran has requested an urgent debate at the United Nations Human Rights Council on the fatal air strike on a primary school on the first day of the US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

Iran's ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Ali Bahreini said: "A strike on a functioning school during class hours represents a grave assault on children, on education, and on the future of the entire community."

The attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh School consisted of two missile strikes in quick succession that killed 168 children, mostly ⁠girls, Iranian officials say.

On March 5, it was reported that Washington military investigators believe it is likely that US forces were responsible but have not yet reached a final conclusion or completed their investigation.

The Pentagon has since elevated the probe.

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