AGENCIES

Pakistan’s capital was all set for historic negotiations between Iran and the US to end the war, as ceasefire violations threatened to derail hopes of peace in the Middle East and beyond.

Even as the US-Iran ceasefire looked increasingly precarious, amid Israel’s continued bombardment of Lebanon and disputes over the terms of the talks, Pakistani officials insisted that the make-or-break peace negotiations would go ahead over the weekend as planned.

The conflict, which began when Israel and the US attacked Iran on February 28, has left thousands dead and caused global economic devastation. Iran’s retaliatory blockade of the critical shipping route, the Strait of Hormuz, has led to a global shortage of oil and gas and triggered the worst energy crisis in history.

Ahead of the talks, Iran yesterday set a ceasefire in Lebanon and the “release of Iran’s blocked assets” as pre-conditions for any negotiations with the US.

“Two of the measures mutually agreed upon between the parties have yet to be implemented: a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of Iran’s blocked assets prior to the commencement of negotiations,” Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote in a post on X in English.

“These two matters must be fulfilled before negotiations begin.”

President Donald Trump yesterday, said that Iran has “no cards” in upcoming talks with the United States -- apart from Tehran’s effective stranglehold on the crucial strait.

Vice President JD Vance, who will lead the US delegation, yesterday set off for the talks in Pakistan, saying he expected a positive outcome, but “if they’re going to try to play us, then they’re going to find the negotiating team is not that receptive”.

The two-day-old ceasefire has halted the campaign of US and Israeli air strikes on Iran. But it has so far done nothing to end the blockade of the strait.

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