Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday met US Vice President JD Vance in Islamabad, with his office stating that negotiations aimed at ending the US-Israel-Iran war had formally commenced.
“As the Islamabad Talks commenced today, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, held a meeting with His Excellency JD Vance, Vice President of the United States of America,” the statement read, adding that Pakistan intends to continue facilitating both sides towards “sustainable peace in the region.”
Videos shared by Pakistan showed Sharif welcoming Vance at the top of a staircase, exchanging pleasantries before escorting him into a hall where seats had been arranged for both delegations. National flags of Pakistan and the United States were visible in the background.
The high-level interaction comes as Islamabad steps up efforts to bring Washington and Tehran into direct talks. Earlier, Sharif had separately received an Iranian delegation, according to reports from Tehran’s state media.
At the core of the talks are two competing frameworks: a 10-point proposal from Iran and a broader 15-point plan from the US, reflecting deep differences despite a willingness to engage.
The US is pushing for strict limits on Iran’s nuclear activities and guarantees against weaponisation, backed by international monitoring. Iran insists its programme is peaceful and refuses to give up its right to uranium enrichment.
Iran is demanding the immediate removal of all sanctions and access to frozen assets. Washington prefers a phased rollback, linking relief directly to verified compliance.
The US is pressing Iran to end support for allied armed groups. Iran is countering with demands for a halt to military actions against those groups and wider regional de-escalation.
Iran has called for a withdrawal of US forces from the region and guarantees of non-aggression. The US has not indicated any willingness to scale back its presence.
