Today's Edition
ISLAMABAD (AFP)
Pakistan was poised on Friday to host Iranian and US delegations for negotiations in its capital.
Separately, Israel and Lebanon will hold talks in Washington next week, a US State Department official said, amid mounting international concern that Israel's bombing campaign could shatter the two-week US-Iran ceasefire.
Islamabad is pressing ahead with its preparations for the high-stakes negotiations, which official sources say will canvass several sensitive points, including Iran's nuclear enrichment and the free flow of trade through the strategic Strait of Hormuz maritime chokepoint.
Pakistan has insisted that Lebanon is included in the ceasefire, and Washington has made a push to include Beirut in parallel talks.
"We can confirm that the Department will host a meeting next week to discuss ongoing ceasefire negotiations with Israel and Lebanon," a US State Department official said.
The two-week truce was agreed to allow negotiations between US and Iranian officials aimed at ending a conflict that has already killed thousands and plunged the global economy into turmoil.
Vice President JD Vance is due to lead the US delegation on Saturday, joined by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
If the talks go ahead, a key point of contention remains the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil as well as vast quantities of natural gas and fertiliser pass in peacetime.
