Trilateral talks between the United States and Iran are underway with Pakistan serving as a mediator, a senior White House official said Saturday.
The trilateral talks are face to face between the US, Pakistan and Iran, the official said in a statement to pool reporters traveling with the US delegation.
Vice President JD Vance is leading the US delegation, along with special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Two top advisers to Vance — his national security adviser Andrew Baker and special adviser for Asian affairs Michael Vance — are also participating in the talks, per a list provided by the White House.
Iran’s delegation in Islamabad is made up of 71 people, including negotiators, experts, media representatives and security, according to state-affiliated outlet Tasnim.
The US has also brought “a full suite of US experts on relevant subject areas” to Islamabad, the White House official said, along with “additional experts” supporting the talks from Washington.
Meanwhile, the direct talks is the highest-level face-to-face negotiations between Iran and the United States since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979.
The discussions come amid a fragile ceasefire, with both sides yet to confirm the scope of the negotiations.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has said Iran is “LOSING BIG” in the conflict as talks in Islamabad kick off.
In a lengthy Truth Social post, Trump claimed members of the media “love saying that Iran is ‘winning’ when, in fact, everyone knows that they are LOSING and LOSING BIG”.
He then goes on to repeat assertions his administration has made during the conflict: “Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti Aircraft apparatus is nonexistent, Radar is dead, their Missile and Drone Factories have been largely obliterated along with the Missiles and Drones themselves and, most importantly, their longtime ‘Leaders’ are no longer with us, praise be to Allah!”
After referring to Iran laying sea mines, he said the US is now starting “clearing out the Strait of Hormuz as a favor to Countries all over the World”.
-- Agencies
