The White House says high-stakes talks between Iran and the United States are scheduled to begin this morning local time in Pakistan.
Who will participate in the talks? The U.S. delegation will be led by Vice President J.D. Vance, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law. The Iranian delegation will be led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. According to Fars News Agency, he was accompanied by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Secretary of the Supreme Council for National Security Ali Akbar Ahmadian, Central Bank Governor Abdulnasser Hemmati, and some members of parliament.
what do they talk about? Coordinating an agenda for talks may be difficult, given that the two countries do not appear to be able to agree on the terms of the ceasefire. President Trump listed “10 proposals from Iran,” which he said were “a viable basis for negotiations.”
But then Iran began sharing a 10-point list of demands that the United States could never agree to, including recognition of control of the Strait of Hormuz, compensation for war damage, and the lifting of all sanctions. Other versions published in state media included recognition of the country’s right to nuclear enrichment.
Meanwhile, Trump and his team have their own 15-point proposal. The full details of the plan have not been disclosed, but it is said to include a commitment by Iran to ban nuclear weapons, hand over highly enriched uranium, limit Iran’s defense capabilities, and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Will this meeting accomplish anything? Despite the differences, President Trump told NBC he was “very optimistic” about a peace agreement at this weekend’s talks in Islamabad, and said Iranian leaders appeared open to peace in private talks. Iran’s public message is markedly different, with state media claiming the country has survived the US and Israeli onslaught and has won a major victory by bringing the US to the negotiating table.
In an interview with the New York Post, President Trump warned Iran that the United States would resume even more violent military action if a peace deal was not reached.
Learn more about what we know here.
CNN’s Kit Maher contributed reporting.
