An Iranian woman walks past an anti-American mural near the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran. Image: keystone
April 11, 2026, 5:05 p.mApril 11, 2026, 5:05 p.m
The struggle for a permanent end to the Iran war has begun in the Pakistani capital Islamabad. After separate preliminary talks between delegations from the USA and Iran with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the warring parties started their peace negotiations. However, the talks are considered extremely fragile; the delegations arrived with long lists of demands.
Pakistan as a mediator
According to information from Pakistani security circles, these are direct talks between the USA and Iran, in the presence of mediator Pakistan. Previously, host Sharif had spoken at two separate meetings with the respective heads of the negotiating delegations, US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. According to the Arabic television channel Al Jazeera, Sharif tried to hold direct talks with Pakistani participation.
US Vice President JD Vance walks past Jared Kushner and a Pakistani soldier.Image: keystone
If Vance is involved in direct talks as head of the US delegation, it would be the highest-level direct exchange with the Islamic Republic in some time. Security in Islamabad is tight. More than 10,000 security forces, including soldiers, police and paramilitary units, have been deployed for the negotiations. The government district and the diplomatic zone are cordoned off.
The demands in the room
The USA and Iran agreed on a two-week ceasefire on Wednesday night – now Islamabad is looking for a lasting peace solution. However, the list of differences to be overcome is complicated and long. One of the biggest points of contention is Tehran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran claims control of the strait, which is important for global energy supplies, and is planning a toll system. As before the war, the USA wants free and safe passage without tolls.
Satellite image of the Strait of Hormuz.Image: Wikimedia
Washington is also demanding the release of more than 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium and the cessation of Iran’s nuclear program. Washington also wants to impose limits on Iran’s ballistic missile development program.
Tehran, meanwhile, is insisting on the release of frozen Iranian assets and reparations payments for damage caused during the war. Iran is also demanding the lifting of all sanctions, a guarantee that there will be no more attacks and a withdrawal of US soldiers from the Middle East.
Iran’s foreign minister suspicious
The Iranian state broadcaster Irib quoted Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi before the talks: He stated that they were entering the talks with “complete distrust” and would fight with all their might to secure the interests and rights of the Iranian nation. The state broadcaster was referring to a telephone conversation Araghtschi had with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Thursday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.Image: www.imago-images.de
The new leadership in Tehran sees itself in a position of strength: the Islamic Republic’s power system remains intact after more than five weeks of war and the US allies in the Persian Gulf have had to cope with painful counterattacks. Above all, Iran is keeping the global economy in suspense with its control over the Strait of Hormuz. From Iran’s perspective, Washington is therefore under time pressure.
The Americans had drawn a different starting point. The USA and Israel have attacked thousands of targets in Iran, massively weakening the country militarily and killing some of its leadership. Trump thinks that the USA therefore holds all the trump cards. “The only reason they are still alive today is to negotiate!” he wrote on Friday.
Attacks between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon
Despite harsh rhetoric, the ceasefire holds. However, it is controversial whether it also applies to Lebanon – Tehran sees it that way, the USA and Israel do not. That’s why it was unclear until recently whether the Iranian delegation would even take part in the talks. Tehran demanded an end to Israeli attacks on the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia in Lebanon as a precondition. Israel carried out massive attacks on Lebanon and especially the capital Beirut on Wednesday.
Mourners during the funeral of 13 state security officers who died in an Israeli attack in the Lebanese coastal town of Sidon.Image: keystone
Violence between the Israeli military and the Hezbollah militia continued on Saturday. The Lebanese state news agency reported air strikes in the south of the country early this morning. Israel’s military said it was continuing to thwart Hezbollah attacks. According to media reports, Israeli troops have also encircled a militia stronghold in southern Lebanon. According to the “ynet” news portal, Hezbollah fighters have been trapped there for days.
However, Israel and Lebanon established contacts to prepare for ceasefire talks. A first meeting is scheduled to take place on Tuesday at the US State Department. The aim is to announce a ceasefire and begin formal negotiations between Israel and Lebanon with the mediation of the USA, it was said from Beirut. According to a report by the US news portal Axios, Israel is ready for talks with Lebanon, but not for negotiations on a ceasefire against the pro-Iranian Hezbollah. (sda/dpa)