U.S. delegation (left) and Iranian delegation [AP·EPA=Yonhap News]

U.S. and Iranian delegations began talks in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, on the 11th (local time) to end the war. This is the highest-level meeting held in nearly 50 years.

Iranian media, including IRNA, Tasnim, and Mehr, simultaneously reported around 5:30 PM Pakistan time that "negotiations between Iran and the U.S. have started in Islamabad."

It appears that the delegations from both countries met separately with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier in the day to discuss the agenda and format of the talks before launching into full negotiations. According to foreign media, the meeting venue is believed to be the Serena Hotel, a 5-star hotel in Islamabad.

The U.S. delegation is led by Vice President JD Vance and includes President Donald Trump's eldest son-in-law Jared Kushner and Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff. Iranian media reported the U.S. delegation's size to be about 300 people, including security personnel.

The Iranian side includes Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The entire Iranian delegation is reported to be around 70 people.

Associated Press, CNN, and the BBC have highlighted the significance of this meeting, stating it is a trilateral summit format with direct engagement between the U.S. and Iran, with Pakistan in attendance.

A White House official told Reuters that a "trilateral meeting between the U.S., Iran, and Pakistan is underway," adding, "The U.S. expert team accompanied them to Islamabad, and additional experts are providing support from Washington D.C."

Al Jazeera also reported that "according to sources, both sides are directly engaged in negotiations with Pakistani mediators present," calling it a "dramatic development."

The U.S. daily New York Times (NYT) explained that Vice President Vance and Speaker Ghalibaf were in a direct meeting with Prime Minister Sharif in attendance. Reuters reported that Envoy Witkoff, Kushner, Minister Araghchi, and Pakistan Army Chief of Staff Asim Munir were also present.

This is the highest-level meeting in 47 years since diplomatic relations between the two countries were severed in 1979, and the first official face-to-face negotiation between the two countries since the Iran nuclear deal was reached in 2015.

Today's meeting takes place four days after both countries surprisingly agreed to a two-week ceasefire on the 7th, and 42 days after the war broke out on February 28th with U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran. Previously, the U.S. presented Iran with a 15-point proposal for ending the war, to which Iran counter-proposed 10 demands.

IRNA reported that "the two countries decided to start negotiations and finalize these issues, considering the intensive consultations and progress made in Islamabad, restraint in attacks by Israel on Beirut and southern Lebanon, and the U.S. acceptance of the unfreezing of Iranian assets."

Before the start of the talks today, the Iranian delegation conveyed four "red lines" to Prime Minister Sharif: ▲ Recognition of control rights over Hormuz ▲ Compensation for war damages ▲ Unfreezing of Iran's frozen overseas assets ▲ Cessation of hostilities across the Middle East, according to IRIB. These appear to have been conveyed to the U.S. delegation.

After the meeting began, Iran's state-run IRIB broadcast reported that "the talks have entered the expert level," with economic, military, legal, and nuclear committee members of the Iranian delegation deployed to the negotiating table, drawing attention to the progress of the dialogue.

Reuters reported that the delegations from both countries paused talks for a break after approximately two hours of dialogue. Tasnim reported that "the talks resumed after the representatives of both sides took a short break for consultation and rest," indicating that the talks have been ongoing for a total of four hours.

Prior to the meeting, the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the arrival of the delegations from both countries, stating its position: "We will support both sides to participate constructively and find a lasting and robust solution to the conflict."

CNN quoted sources familiar with the negotiations as expecting that "the negotiations will take several days." Tasnim initially stated that "the current plan is for the talks to likely last for one day if they are held," but after the talks began, it changed its outlook to "negotiations may be extended for another day if necessary."