U.S. and Iran hold direct talks
U.S. and Iranian officials have opened direct talks in Islamabad and are exchanging written texts as negotiators press for a ceasefire and to settle maritime security around the Strait of Hormuz. (indiatoday.in) Washington has reportedly agreed to release Iran’s frozen assets as those discussions progress, even as Israeli attacks in Lebanon continue and Israel says it will not discuss a ceasefire with Hezbollah. (english.mathrubhumi.com) U.S. officials and commentators are also focused on shipping risks in the strait after President Trump complained Iran was hindering the free flow of ships through the waterway. (wandtv.com)
The United States and Iran have opened direct talks in Islamabad, with negotiators still swapping texts after an overnight session paused without a deal. (apnews.com) Associated Press reported the talks ran past midnight into early Sunday, April 12, and involved Vice President JD Vance for the United States and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf for Iran. Pakistani officials told the outlet the top-level session ended before dawn and could resume after a break. (apnews.com) Reuters reported that Iran said technical teams would keep exchanging written proposals even after the main talks paused. The same report said Islamabad locked down parts of the city with thousands of paramilitary personnel and army troops during the meetings. (al-monitor.com) One central dispute is the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that carries a large share of the world’s seaborne oil. Reuters and CNBC both reported that safe passage for ships through the strait is a core issue in the talks. (cnbc.com) (al-monitor.com) The White House said on April 8 that Iran had agreed to a ceasefire and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but reporting from April 10 through April 12 said shipping restrictions and mine-clearing claims were still in dispute. Associated Press reported the United States military said two destroyers transited the strait ahead of mine-clearing work, while Iranian state media said Iran’s joint military command denied that account. (whitehouse.gov) (apnews.com) Another unresolved issue is money. Reuters, citing a senior Iranian source, said Washington had agreed to release frozen Iranian assets held in Qatar and other foreign banks, but the report also said the United States had made no public confirmation. (usnews.com) That matters because frozen assets have been a pressure point in U.S.-Iran relations for decades. The State Department says the United States has maintained layers of Iran sanctions since 1979 and added multiple new sanctions actions in 2025 and 2026, including measures tied to oil trading and procurement networks. (state.gov) The talks are also unfolding alongside fighting outside Iran itself. Associated Press reported Iran had demanded a reduction in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon before the Pakistan talks began, while Reuters and other reports said Israel was not discussing a ceasefire with Hezbollah. (apnews.com) (english.mathrubhumi.com) The meeting is the highest-level face-to-face U.S.-Iran contact of this war and among the most direct contacts between the two governments in decades. Associated Press noted that the last comparable direct engagement dated back to the Obama-era nuclear diplomacy that led to the 2015 Iran deal. (apnews.com) For now, the talks have produced a pause, not a settlement: negotiators are still trading papers, the Strait of Hormuz is still contested, and the question of Iran’s frozen funds is still publicly unresolved. (al-monitor.com)
