On Thursday (April 9), the Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan posted on social media that an Iranian delegation would arrive in the Pakistani capital Islamabad that evening for talks with U.S. representatives on advancing the ceasefire. However, the post was subsequently deleted, sparking speculation.
Earlier on Thursday, Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam posted on social media: “Despite widespread skepticism in Iran due to Israel’s repeated violations of the ceasefire agreement… the Iranian delegation will still arrive in Islamabad tonight for serious negotiations based on Iran’s ten-point proposal.”
However, this post was deleted without warning. Speculation arose that there may still be uncertainties in the U.S.-Iran high-level talks, indicating potential divisions within the Iranian regime regarding the stance on the negotiations.
According to reports by the Associated Press, on Wednesday (April 8), White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed in a press conference that Vice President JD Vance would lead a delegation to Islamabad along with Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to meet with the Iranian delegation with the aim of permanently ending the war.
Leavitt stated, “The first round of talks will take place on Saturday morning local time (April 11). We look forward to these face-to-face meetings.”
On the same day, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf claimed that the U.S. had violated Tehran’s 10-point ceasefire plan, including ongoing attacks in Lebanon, drone intrusions into Iranian airspace, and denial of Iran’s uranium enrichment rights, therefore making the ceasefire and negotiations with the U.S. “unreasonable.”
Ghalibaf’s statement on social media pointed out that the U.S. had violated three items in the ceasefire proposal, stating that there is deep-rooted historical mistrust of the U.S. within the Iranian regime.
In response to this, Vice President Vance, who was visiting Hungary at the time, addressed the issue. When asked by reporters about the disagreements on these three issues, he stated, “Firstly, he (Ghalibaf) mentioned a few disagreements before negotiations. This necessarily implies that there are many areas of agreement because there is currently a circulating 15-point plan and a 10-point plan. If he is frustrated with the 3 issues, it actually means there is a lot of consensus between the two parties.”
“Secondly, regarding these 3 issues, I have read them carefully, and let me say this: I actually doubt his understanding of English because some of what he said simply does not make sense in the context of our negotiations so far.”
Furthermore, regarding an attack mentioned by Ghalibaf, Vance stated that ceasefires are always chaotic, “After President (Trump) declared a ceasefire, the Iranians launched a wave of missiles an hour later, then the Israelis retaliated, and then some Gulf Arab states also launched counterattacks. That’s the nature of a ceasefire. No ceasefire can completely avoid some disturbances.”
Vance emphasized, “We want to stop the bombing. We want our allies to stop bombing, and we also want the Iranian side to stop. We see signs that things are moving in the right direction, but it will take some time.”
Islamabad announced on Wednesday that the entire city would be on holiday for the upcoming days. Although the specific reason was not disclosed, it is common for local authorities to arrange holidays or impose other security restrictions before high-level diplomatic activities take place. During the holiday period, essential services will continue to operate, including police, hospitals, as well as electricity and gas utilities.