A woman walks past a digital screen displaying news of US-Iran peace talks along a road in Islamabad on April 10, 2026. (Photo by Farooq Naeem / AFP)
Doha, Qatar: High-profile officials from Iran and the US are in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, for the highly-anticipated ceasefire talks, which Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described as "make or break".
Pakistan has declared a two-day holiday, and deployed 10,000 security personnel on duty.
Stay tuned for more updates:
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8:45am Doha Time
US envoys Witkoff, Kushner arrive in Islamabad for talks
Sources in Pakistan have told the Reuters news agency that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have landed in Islamabad for talks with Iran.
7am Doha Time
Iran delegation in Pakistan capital ahead of US talks: state TV
A delegation of top Iranian officials arrived in Islamabad ahead of ceasefire talks with the United States in the Pakistani capital, Iranian state television reported Friday.
The delegation was led by Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, along with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and other security and economic officials, state broadcaster IRIB said on its website. It reiterated Iran's position, however, that talks would only begin if Washington accepts Iran's preconditions.
Ghalibaf earlier set a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israel has attacked militant group Hezbollah, and the "release of Iran's blocked assets" as conditions for the start of negotiations with the US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance.
Official sources say the Islamabad talks will cover sensitive points, including Iran's nuclear enrichment and the free flow of trade through the Strait of Hormuz.
Since the two-week ceasefire started, US President Donald Trump has voiced displeasure at Iran's handling of the strategic strait, which was meant to be reopened. Tehran has in turn reacted angrily to Israeli attacks in Lebanon, insisting that it too falls under the agreement.
Trump posted on his Truth Social network on Friday that Iran has "no cards" in the talks "other than a short-term extortion of the World by using International Waterways".
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked both sides for agreeing to meet, but said the talks will be hard work.
"A temporary ceasefire has been announced, but now an even more difficult stage lies ahead: the stage of achieving a lasting ceasefire, of resolving complicated issues through negotiations," he said in a televised speech.
"This is that stage which, in English, is called the equivalent of 'make or break'."
6am Doha Time
US President says Strait of Hormuz will open soon
US President Donald Trump confirmed that the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened soon, whether Iran cooperates or not, stressing that his top priority in the peace talks in Islamabad is to ensure that Tehran does not acquire a nuclear weapon.
In remarks, Trump said that they would open the strait with Iran or without it, expressing his belief that it would happen very quickly, and that if it does not, Washington would be able to resolve the matter.
When asked what he considers a good agreement with Iran, the US president replied that it means no nuclear weapons, noting that this accounts for 99% of the agreement.
Trump has sent his Vice President JD Vance to Pakistan to negotiate with senior Iranian officials in an effort to reach a peace agreement, following the announcement on Tuesday of a two-week ceasefire, at a time when the world is facing a severe energy crisis due to the halt in navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s crude oil passes.
7am Doha Time
