American and Iranian officials were holding face-to-face talks in Pakistan on Saturday, the most significant since the 1979 Islamic revolution as the foes try to end a war that plunged the Middle East into violence and rocked the world economy.
As talks went late into the night, US Central Command said two warships had transited the crucial Strait of Hormuz, while Iranian media accused US negotiators of making “excessive demands” over the crucial waterway that Tehran has blocked.
The trilateral direct negotiations were taking place with host Pakistan in capital Islamabad, a senior White House official said, a departure from recent practice where both sides held talks via a mediator while seated in separate rooms.
The US delegation was being led by Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the official said, making it the highest level of American contact since the Islamic republic was established.
A Pakistani…
