US Vice President JD Vance has arrived in Pakistan for talks with Iranian officials.
He led a US delegation in Islamabad ahead of talks aimed at cementing a ‘fragile’ ceasefire.
It will be the first such meeting since the war began more than a month ago.
The Pakistan-brokered ceasefire is hanging by a thread as Israel and Hezbollah militants continue to trade blows along the border of southern Lebanon.
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The US delegation also includes President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner.
They were met with a guard of honour on Saturday morning.
Iran’s delegation, led by wartime leader Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, swooped in via two separate aircrafts on Friday.
The delegation also included foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, a veteran nuclear negotiator and Ali Akbar Ahmadian, secretary of the Iranian defence council.
JD Vance led a US delegation in Islamabad
|REUTERS
The 14-day ceasefire agreed by the US and Iran this week is what the talks will be centred upon amid suggestions it has been undermined by Israel’s continued strikes with Hezbollah.
Iran’s refusal to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz has also been a major point of contention.
Ghalibaf has insisted Tehran would only participate if Israel agreed to end its assault on Hezbollah and the US agreed to unfreeze Iranian assets held overseas.
Late on Friday, Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors held a call which was overseen by US officials.
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The two countries subsequently agreed to hold talks in Washington to discuss a ceasefire, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said.
Such a move would be the first direct talks between the two countries in more than four decades.
The US and Iran remain hugely sceptical about each other’s aims with huge hurdles to overcome in the Islamabad talks.
Mr Trump said in a Truth Social post that the Iranians “don’t seem to realise they have no cards, other than a short term extortion of the World by using International Waterways”.
Donald Trump is under pressure to ensure the ceasefire holds
|GETTY
He added: “The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!”
Mr Vance appeared more positive as he departed for the Middle East, indicating a willingness to negotiate in good faith.
“We’re certainly willing to extend the open hand”, he said.
He also warned that “if they’re going to try and play us, then they’re going to find the negotiation team is not that receptive”.
The Vice President becomes the highest-ranking US official to hold negotiations with Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
He wants a deal on Iran’s nuclear programme on top of a full reopening of the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.
Ghalibaf, considered a pragmatic negotiator, will also be the highest-ranking Iranian to hold talks with US counterparts in decades.