The Iranian, US, and Pakistani negotiators are reportedly meeting face-to-face
Published 11 Apr, 2026 02:10
| Updated 11 Apr, 2026 15:43
High-level Iranian and US delegations have sat down for direct negotiations in Islamabad, according to Iranian state broadcaster IRIB and the Associated Press.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is leading the Iranian side; US Vice President J.D. Vance heads the American team.
Iran has arrived with a message of deep mistrust. Ghalibaf said Tehran has goodwill despite the US attacking Iran “twice within less than a year” in the middle of negotiations.
Vance struck a similar tone, saying earlier that he expects productive talks while warning Iran not to “play” the US.
US President Donald Trump has projected confidence and threat in equal measure, saying the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened “with or without” Iran’s cooperation, as he reportedly prepares military options in case the talks collapse.
“We don’t need a back-up plan… we’ve hit them hard, our military is amazing,” Trump told journalists after wishing Vance good luck.
Key developments:
- Trump has summed up what a good deal with Iran looks like, saying: “No nuclear weapon. That’s 99% of it,” while adding that the Strait of Hormuz “will open automatically.”
- Iran’s team reflects how broadly Tehran is framing the negotiations, reaching far beyond a narrow nuclear discussion. Alongside Ghalibaf are Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is heading the political track; Abdolnaser Hemmati, leading the economic side; Ali Akbar Ahmadian, overseeing the military file; and Esmaeil Baqaei, handling legal matters.
- The US side appears narrower, with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner also expected in Islamabad, although public reporting has offered few confirmed details about the delegation’s composition.
- Israeli strikes have reportedly killed at least 1,953 people in Lebanon since 2 March, including more than 300 killed in Wednesday’s bombardment after the fragile ceasefire was announced.
Follow our live coverage below for continuous updates. You can also read our previous updates here.
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11 April 2026
16:12 GMT
Trump rails against the media in another social media post, insisting that the US “destroyed” Iran’s military “and everything else.”
“Their Leadership is DEAD! The Strait of Hormuz will soon be open, and the empty ships are rushing to the United States to “load up.” But, if you listen to the Fake News, we’re losing!” he says in a Truth Social post.
- 16:01 GMT
The Iranian delegation is meeting the US negotiators “with great suspicion,” given past American actions during talks, Tehran University Professor Seyed Mohammad Marandi has told RT from the venue in Islamabad.
“We have a very dark past with the US. As everyone knows, we negotiated last year and, as we were negotiating, the US secretly conspired to attack the country,” he said.
“If the Americans fail to abide by their commitments, then there’s no point in continuing the negotiations.”
- 15:49 GMT
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei has accused US policymakers and media figures of normalizing “terror.”
“While US authorities accuse Iran of lacking ‘good faith’ and engaging in ‘extortion,’ elements within the US policy and media space are outright recommending the assassination of Iranian negotiators in the event that negotiations fail,” he said.
While U.S. authorities accuse Iran of lacking “good faith” and engaging in “extortion,” elements within the U.S. policy and media space are outright recommending the assassination of Iranian negotiators in the event that negotiations fail.Is this not, in effect, a policy… pic.twitter.com/DeDrnUhe0o
— Esmaeil Baqaei (@IRIMFA_SPOX) April 11, 2026
- 15:36 GMT
Hundreds of Hezbollah supporters have gathered outside the prime minister’s headquarters in Beirut to protest the government’s decision to enter talks with Israel, according to footage provided by RT’s correspondent in Lebanon.
Israel has stressed that it would not negotiate with Hezbollah, and continued strikes on the group.
A large-scale Israeli bombing of the Lebanese capital killed more than 300 people on Wednesday.
- 15:21 GMT
The Iranian, US, and Pakistani delegations are holding face-to-face meetings, AP reports, citing the White House.
- 15:06 GMT
Iran has the upper hand in the negotiations, Deputy Minister of Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi has said in a video interview in Islamabad.
“Americans have not achieved their strategic goals and have suffered major defeats so far,” he claimed, adding that Iran “will reach the desired results.”
- 14:51 GMT
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has published photographs of the Iranian delegation’s talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
- 14:34 GMT
Israeli forces have struck more than 200 Hezbollah targets in the past day, the IDF has said, adding that it is continuing to strike the group’s launchers in Lebanon.
A pause of attacks on Lebanon was one of Iran’s preconditions for negotiations with the US.
Just days before, a massive Israeli bombing of the Lebanese capital killed more than 300 people and injured more than 1,100.
צה"ל תקף ביממה האחרונה יותר מ-200 מטרות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בלבנוןחיל האוויר ממשיך לתקוף תשתיות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה ולסייע לפעילות של הכוחות הקרקעיים הפועלים בדרום לבנון. בנוסף, צה"ל ממשיך לתקוף משגרים במטרה לסכל ירי לעבר אזרחי מדינת ישראל pic.twitter.com/8kL0gp3W9K
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) April 11, 2026
- 14:02 GMT
An unnamed Iranian security official cited by Tasnim has dismissed an Axios report of a US Navy ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Iranian news agency said that while there had been an incident involving an American destroyer moving from the UAE port of Fujairah towards the Strait of Hormuz, it was immediately checked by the Iranian military.
According to Tasnim, Iranian negotiators also told Pakistani mediators that “if the ship’s movement continues, it will be targeted within 30 minutes and the negotiations between Iran and the United States will also be affected.”
The warning, it added, ultimately led to a halt order by the US.
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- 13:52 GMT
US-Iran negotiations in Islamabad have moved to the level of technical experts, Press TV has reported.
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11 April 2026
02:10 GMT
The reported full list of Iran’s delegation for the Islamabad talks shows how high the stakes are for Tehran. The 71-member team is led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and includes Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati, senior Supreme National Security Council figures, deputy foreign ministers, MPs and other senior officials, experts and media staff.
The composition of the team suggests Iran is preparing to negotiate on several tracks at once. Ali Bagheri Kani brings long experience from earlier nuclear talks, while hardline MP Mohammad Nabavian’s presence points to the need for any agreement to pass muster with conservative factions in Tehran. Hemmati’s inclusion also signals that sanctions relief and financial issues are likely to be central from the start.
#WestAsiaWar | #Pakistan releases a list of the names from the Iranian delegation, consisting of 86 officials, experts, & media personnel that have arrived to advance #ceasefire talks with the US Vice PresidentThe Iranian delegation comprises economists, legal teams, the… pic.twitter.com/W7nSrGbIkp
— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 11, 2026
- 02:22 GMT
President Donald Trump said ahead of the Islamabad talks that Washington’s main demand from any deal with Tehran was simply that Iran not obtain a nuclear weapon – a generic objective the Islamic Republic has long denied pursuing, and one that had already dominated years of diplomacy before the latest war.
“No nuclear weapon. That’s 99% of it,” Trump said of his vision for a good deal, adding that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen “automatically” and “fairly soon” – “with or without” Iranian cooperation.
Trump’s remarks narrowed expectations for the talks to the same core nuclear issue that has shaped US-Iran negotiations for years, while also presenting the reopening of Hormuz as a win even though the crucial waterway had been functioning freely before the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.
.@POTUS: "No nuclear weapon. That's 99% of it." https://t.co/pwqA8I9oZRpic.twitter.com/IEQZNl4SFb
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 10, 2026
- 02:30 GMT
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf struck a deeply sceptical tone on arrival in Islamabad, saying Tehran was approaching the talks with “goodwill” but not trust after what he described as repeated American betrayal during earlier diplomatic efforts.
“Twice within less than a year, in the middle of negotiations, and despite the Iranian side’s good faith, they attacked us and committed numerous war crimes,” Ghalibaf said. “We have goodwill, but we do not have trust.”
He added that Tehran would only show readiness for an agreement if Washington was “ready for a genuine agreement and to grant the rights of the Iranian nation”.
Ghalibaf also warned the US against using the talks as what he called a “futile performance” or a “deception operation”, saying Iran was prepared to defend its interests by relying on its own capabilities if diplomacy again proved to be a cover for pressure or attack.
- 02:42 GMT
Israel has reportedly agreed to halt strikes on Beirut at the request of the US, Haaretz said, citing an unnamed diplomatic source who claimed there were no longer “significant military targets” in the Lebanese capital. There has been no official Israeli confirmation.
- 02:54 GMT
Israel has confirmed it will begin formal talks with Lebanon in Washington on Tuesday, but rejected the Lebanese framing that the meeting would include the discussion of a “ceasefire.”
Lebanese officials say the talks are meant to lay out both a ceasefire and a path to direct negotiations. Israel, by contrast, is insisting it will not discuss a ceasefire with Hezbollah and is instead focused on disarming the group and pursuing broader “peaceful relations.”
Israel’s offensive in Lebanon since March 2 has killed 1,888 people and wounded 6,092 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The April 8 bombardment alone involved “over 100 strikes within minutes,” leaving more than 300 dead and in excess of 1,100 injured.
- 03:13 GMT
The economic fallout from the Middle East war will not end with a ceasefire, according to the heads of the World Bank and the IMF, who have both warned that the conflict is already dragging on growth, fuelling inflation and disrupting trade and energy markets.
World Bank President Ajay Banga told Reuters that even in a baseline scenario with an early end to the war, growth in emerging markets and developing economies could be lowered by 0.3 to 0.4 percentage point, while a longer conflict could cut growth by as much as 1 percentage point. Inflation in those economies could rise by 200 to 300 basis points in the baseline scenario, he said.
The IMF has struck a similar tone. Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the war would leave a lasting scar on the global economy even if peace is reached, warning that the conflict has already driven up oil and gas prices, damaged confidence and dimmed the outlook for many economies.
- 03:20 GMT
Al Jazeera has aired exclusive footage showing damage across Qatar after Iranian strikes launched in response to the US-Israeli attack on Iran. The report, from the programme What Lies Hidden Is Greater, shows blast sites, debris and interception operations at and around Al Udeid air base, early-warning radar sites in northern Qatar, Ras Laffan industrial city and other roads, neighbourhoods and infrastructure.
Part of the footage appears to show damage to the AN/FPS-132 early-warning radar at Al Udeid after the Iranian strike on March 3, when Qatar said one Iranian missile hit the base without causing casualties. Neither Qatar nor the US has publicly confirmed the extent of any damage to the radar itself.
💢Al Jazeera shows damage from Iranian strikes across QatarA new episode of AJA’s “What Lies Hidden Is Greater” airs exclusive footage documenting damage inside Qatar following Iranian strikes after the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran.The investigation shows impacts across:➤ Al… https://t.co/gEoyPB3s1ppic.twitter.com/P1PkytqTXx
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) April 10, 2026
- 03:38 GMT
The fragile ceasefire between Iran and the US appeared to be largely holding into Saturday, with no confirmed new Iranian missile or drone launches reported since Wednesday.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps previously said Iran’s armed forces had not carried out any airstrikes against other countries since the ceasefire began, while the Wall Street Journal said attacks on Gulf states appeared to have halted after a burst of launches around the truce announcement.
Over the course of the conflict, Iranian officials have denied responsibility for many reported attacks and, in some cases, framed such claims as provocations or “false flag” operations by the US and Israel designed to drag its regional neighbors into the war.
Iranian analyst Seyed Mohammad Marandi told RT India on Thursday that Israel could try to derail both the fragile ceasefire and the Islamabad talks, arguing that continued Israeli strikes on Lebanon show the US is not delivering on its side of the bargain.
- 04:17 GMT
Pakistan has opened a dedicated media center for journalists covering the US-Iran negotiations in Islamabad, with Information Minister Attaullah Tarar saying the facility offers high-speed internet and a range of free services for local and foreign reporters. According to AP, the facility at the Jinnah Convention Center includes workstations, laptops, charging points, live broadcast areas and spaces for press briefings and interviews.
The government has also introduced visa-on-arrival for journalists and official delegations travelling from the US and Iran for the so-called “Islamabad talks,” while shuttle services have been laid on between the media center and a hotel in the city.
- 04:28 GMT
The White House has warned staff against using non-public information about the Iran war to trade or place bets on financial markets, according to multiple reports earlier this week citing administration officials.
The reminder, reportedly sent in a March 24 email from the White House Management Office, came after unusual market activity before several Trump policy announcements on Iran.
Reports said more than $760 million in oil futures changed hands within minutes before Trump announced a five-day pause in planned strikes on Iranian infrastructure, while several Polymarket accounts also made well-timed bets on this week’s ceasefire.
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