The Latest: US and Iranian officials meet face-to-face in Islamabad ceasefire talks

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The United States and Iran began face-to-face negotiations Saturday in Pakistan, days after a fragile, two-week ceasefire was announced.

The war that has killed thousands of people and shaken global markets entered its seventh week.

The White House confirmed the direct nature of the talks. The talks came after U.S. and Iranian officials met separately with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance and the Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf were discussing how to advance the ceasefire already threatened by deep disagreements and Israel’s continued attacks against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Here is the latest:

The death toll in Lebanon from Israeli strikes in the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah has risen to 2,020, the Lebanese health ministry said Saturday.

The death toll from nearly six weeks of war includes 248 women,165 children and 85 health workers, the ministry said. Another 6,436 people have been wounded. Nearly 100 people were killed in the past 24 hours.

The Iran-backed Lebanese militant group fired missiles into Israel on March 2 in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran. A tentative truce is now in place in Iran, but the U.S. and Israel say the agreement does not apply to Lebanon, while Tehran says it does. The question is likely to be one of the thornier points in the U.S.-Iran ceasefire negotiations now underway in Pakistan.

The U.S. military on Saturday prepared for mine-clearing operations in the Strait of Hormuz as two Navy destroyers transited the waterway through which 20% of the world’s oil normally flows, U.S. Central Command said in a news release.

The destroyers are part of a broader mission to ensure the strait is fully clear of sea mines previously laid by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, CENTCOM stated.

Iran’s state media said earlier on Saturday that it had forced a U.S. military ship that was attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz to turn around.

The strait has been effectively closed to most oil and gas freighters since the U.S. and Israel began to strike Israel on Feb. 28. Cease-fire talks are now underway in Pakistan.

In his strongest words yet, Pope Leo XIV on Saturday denounced the “delusion of omnipotence” that is fueling the U.S.-Israel war in Iran and demanded political leaders stop and negotiate peace.

Leo presided over an evening prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica on the same day the United States and Iran began face-to-face negotiations in Pakistan and as a fragile ceasefire held.

History’s first U.S.-born pope didn’t mention the United States or President Donald Trump in his prayer, which was planned before the talks were announced. But Leo’s tone and message appeared directed at Trump and U.S. officials, who have boasted of U.S. military superiority and justified the war in religious terms.

“Enough of the idolatry of self and money!” Leo demanded. “Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!”

U.S. and Iranian officials resumed a second round of talks Saturday night in Islamabad after a break, with both sides backed by technical experts, two Pakistani officials said.

They added that Pakistan’s top political and military leadership is encouraging both sides to resolve their differences to ensure durable peace in the region, and the talks were progressing.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The officials declined to share further details, saying they hoped for a win-win solution.

-By Munir Ahmed

Trump confirmed in a phone interview with NewsNation that talks among the U.S., Iran and Pakistan had begun, though he does not know how successful they could be.

When asked how negotiations would go, Trump said: “I have no idea.”

The U.S. president said he would know shortly if he felt Iran was acting in good faith about resolving the war.

Trump added that the U.S. knew where mines had been placed in the Strait of Hormuz and that the military was bringing equipment to remove them.

Saturday’s face-to-face talks in Pakistan that are being led by Vance and Qalibaf mark a rare instance of high-level engagement between American leadership and the Iranian government.

Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the highest-level direct contact had been when President Barack Obama, a Democrat, in September 2013 called newly elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to discuss Iran’s nuclear program.

It’s a high-stakes political task for Vance, who has been a reluctant defender of the U.S. war with Iran, and has little previous diplomatic experience. Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who are joining Vance at the table, also are relatively new players in international diplomacy.

The White House said it sent “a full suite of U.S. experts on relevant subject areas” to join the negotiators in Islamabad, and said other experts were supporting the team from Washington.

Thousands of worshippers took part in the annual “Holy Fire” ceremony on Saturday in Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, an Orthodox Christian ritual that dates back more than 1,200 years.

The ceremony, held the day before Orthodox Easter, symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus, where the Greek Orthodox Patriarch brings out candles reportedly lit by a miraculous, non-burning flame from the tomb, which is then passed to thousands of worshipers.

Holy sites across Jerusalem’s Old City, including Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Western Wall, remained closed for 40 days under Israeli security restrictions following the war on Iran, but reopened on Thursday as a fragile, two-week ceasefire between Iran, Israel, and the U.S. appeared to hold.

“Just two days ago there was absolutely no one in the Old City, it felt like an orphaned town,” said Fr. Antonious Al-Orshalemy. “But now we see wedding-like celebrations on every level. Everyone is happy, and everyone is joyful.”

Amid the protests, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Saturday he had postponed a planned trip to Washington “in light of the current internal circumstances.”

Ahead of his announcement, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader on international affairs warned against sidelining Hezbollah, saying in a social media post: “Mr. Nawaf Salam must know that ignoring the unparalleled role of the Resistance and the heroic Hezbollah will expose Lebanon to irreparable security risks.”

President Joseph Aoun said Friday a first meeting will be held Tuesday at the U.S. State Department to discuss a ceasefire and launch U.S.-mediated Lebanon-Israel negotiations, following a call between the two countries’ ambassadors in Washington with the participation of the U.S. ambassador to Beirut.

Protesters burned portraits of Salam in downtown Beirut near the Grand Serail, calling him a “Zionist” as they carried Hezbollah flags.

It was not immediately clear whether Salam was joining the delegation on Tuesday or what his decision meant for the talks.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that attacks against any Gulf state constitute an attack on all of them, denying that Qatar pays Iran to stop attacks against its territory.

“Qatar does not pay in exchange for stopping attacks on it,” said Majed al-Ansari in a televised interview with Al Jazeera, adding that Qatar intercepts the Iranian attacks.

Al-Ansari added Iran had also attacked civilian and industrial targets, despite Iran’s claim that it was only targeting military sites.

“I cannot say whether they are sitting in the same room or in separate rooms, but talks have started and are progressing well,” the official with knowledge of the peace efforts said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

-By Munir Ahmed

The White House said that delegations from the United States, Iran and Pakistan are holding face-to-face meetings on Saturday.

The start of the meeting represents a significant test as to whether the ceasefire, which has already shown strains, is durable enough to resolve the Iran war.

President Donald Trump ahead of the meeting has engaged in provocative social media posts, suggesting that the U.S. energy sector will benefit from Iran effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz to oil and natural gas tankers.

Energy prices have risen sharply since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February, with the stated goals of stopping its development of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons.

Vice President JD Vance is leading the U.S. delegation, along with Steve Witkoff, the special envoy, and Jared Kushner, who is President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.

The White House provided a list of the U.S. officials involved in negotiations for ending the Iran war, including Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.

Also participating are Andrew Baker, the national security adviser to the vice president, and Michael Vance, the special adviser to the vice president for Asian affairs.

Foremost is Iran’s nuclear program, especially the status of its enriched uranium after last year’s U.S. and Israeli strikes on nuclear sites. Tehran has not allowed the U.N. nuclear watchdog to inspect since then.

Before the war, Iran’s ballistic missile program was another main issue, especially for Israel, along with Iran’s support for armed proxies in the Middle East including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthi rebels in Yemen and Hamas in Gaza.

Now other issues have emerged, notably Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz, a major waterway for Middle East oil, natural gas and related products like fertilizer.

Iran now wants an end to attacks, compensation for earlier ones and a guarantee that no more will occur. It wants U.S. military forces to leave the region.

Tehran also wants longtime sanctions lifted.

The Israeli military said its air force hit infrastructure of the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon and was continuing to support its ground forces operating in southern Lebanon.

The statement came as Teheran was pressing for a halt to Israeli strikes on Hezbollah in three-party talks that began Saturday afternoon between Iran and the US in Pakistan.

Earlier Saturday, the Lebanese state-run news agency reported at least three people killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon. There were no reported strikes in the afternoon hours.

In Israeli communities along the border with Lebanon sirens continued to warn of drone and rocket attacks from Lebanon throughout the day Saturday. There were no reports of injuries.

The U.S. president posted on social media that he is monitoring fertilizer price and “will not accept” any increase in costs for farmers.

Fertilizer costs have increased globally because of natural gas supplies being stranded due Iran’s control of the Strait of the Hormuz. Iran has used the strait as strategic leverage in its ongoing war with the U.S. and Israel.

But Trump’s post was targeted at a domestic audience.

“I am watching fertilizer prices CLOSELY during our FIGHT FOR FREEDOM in Iran,” he posted. “The United States will not accept PRICE GOUGING from the fertilizer monopoly! American Farmers, we have your back!”

The Trump administration has revoked the green cards of more long-term Iranian residents of the United States who are related to current or former senior Iranian officials.

The State Department said Saturday it had taken action against Seyed Eissa Hashemi, a Los Angeles-area psychology teacher, his wife and son, all of whom were Iranian born lawful permanent residents of the US.

The department said in a statement released as talks to end the war with Iran were getting underway in Pakistan that they had been taken into custody by immigration authorities and are slated for deportation.

Hashemi, it said, is the son of Masoumeh Ebtekar who served as a spokeswoman for the attackers who took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and was later promoted to be Iran’s first female vice president.

Just last week, the State Department revoked the green cards of the niece and grand-niece of former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps chief Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad in early 2020.

Iran’s IRNA news agency said on Saturday that after progress in indirect discussions, negotiations have begun between the United States and Iran.

The country’s state-run news agency said three-party talks with the U.S., Iran and Pakistan had begun after a reduction in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon and other preconditions being met.

The U.S. president posted on social media that Iran’s military has been destroyed and that America is beginning to open up the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway chokepoint used by Iran to restrict the shipping of 20% of the world’s oil supplies.

It was unclear from the post if Trump was referring to the possible use of mines in the Strait of Hormuz or Iran’s broader ability to control the area.

“We’re now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz as a favor to Countries all over the World, including China, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, and many others,” Trump posted. “Incredibly, they don’t have the Courage or Will to do this work themselves.”

French President Emmanuel Macron is urging ″respect for the ceasefire and its application to Lebanon.’′

In a social media post, Macron said he talked to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday and that in addition to discussing the ceasefire, they urged a return to free navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

The French leader didn’t mention the negotiations in Pakistan, but said he and Erdogan ″underlined the need for a robust and lasting diplomatic solution.’′

Macron has been speaking regularly with other world leaders about the war and helping lead efforts for a mission to secure shipping in the Strait of Hormuz once the fighting calms. He has been particularly active in pushing for peace in Lebanon, a former French protectorate with close ties to France.