Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian touched down in Islamabad on Tuesday for negotiations with Pakistani officials who are mediating talks between Tehran and Washington aimed at ending the war in the Middle East. The visit comes as technical teams from both sides work to finalize a deal, but discrepancies have emerged over what has been agreed, and fresh violence in Lebanon threatens the fragile process.
Pezeshkian was greeted by Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and other senior officials under tight security, according to Pakistani state media. This marks the Iranian leader’s first trip to Pakistan since the conflict began with a U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28.
The diplomatic push follows high-level negotiations in Switzerland on Monday, led by U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf. But back in Tehran, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters that no visits by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect Iranian nuclear sites bombed by the U.S. last year have been scheduled—contradicting Vance’s claim that the talks had secured such access.
“It is interesting that the philosophy and goal of the war, which was the destruction of the Iranian civilization and the collapse of Iran, has become enriching American farmers,” Baghaei said, pushing back on Vance’s suggestion that unfrozen Iranian funds would be used to buy U.S. agricultural products. Iran’s ambassador in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, also stressed that Tehran alone would decide how to use its assets.
The talks have established a 60-day diplomatic process to reach a permanent end to the Iran war, with initial agreements to create a “de-confliction cell” to address fighting in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, as well as mechanisms to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. However, violence in southern Lebanon reignited on Tuesday when Israeli soldiers opened fire, killing two people near Nabatiyeh al-Fawqa, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency. The incident came after a brief ceasefire brokered on Saturday, and any escalation could upend broader negotiations, given Iran’s demand that a full truce in Lebanon be part of any comprehensive deal.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has further complicated matters by insisting that Israel retains “full freedom of action” to thwart threats, raising questions about the durability of the Lebanon ceasefire. Neither Israel nor Hezbollah is a signatory to the U.S.-Iran deal, adding another layer of uncertainty.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that the talks have spawned specific negotiation groups focused on sanctions relief, nuclear issues, reconstruction, and monitoring. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said a contact mechanism has also been formed for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and for the Lebanon conflict. But Pezeshkian cautioned on X that “the effectiveness of the talks depends on full commitment to the agreed obligations and their precise implementation,” warning that statements outside the agreed text do not help advance the negotiations.
As the technical teams continue their work, the gap between U.S. and Iranian positions remains stark. For more on the broader context, see our coverage of Vance’s Iran talks yielding modest gains amid nuclear and Lebanon hurdles and the hardline stance from Senator Sheehy on Tehran’s objectives.
