US and Iran holding separate peace talks
Talks are being held separately by Iran and the US as uncertainty continues over whether the two countries will ever meet face-to-face at peace discussions in Islamabad.
JD Vance, the US vice-president, met Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan’s prime minister, earlier on Saturday. Iranian state TV subsequently claimed that the country’s delegation had communicated its conditions to Sharif.
Iran has reportedly said that it wanted the release of frozen assets, payment of reparations, a ceasefire across the whole region and formalisation of its ownership of the Strait of Hormuz for a ceasefire to be agreed.
Despite Iran’s condition of the pause in fighting to encompass Lebanon, Israel has continued with strikes in the south of the country.
Residents in Tehran said they were not hopeful that talks would succeed: “If we get concrete and final results, there is still a chance that the deal falls through,” said Shahab Banitaba.
Trump boasts of tankers travelling to the US for oil
President Trump has boasted that tankers are flocking to the US for oil while Iran continues to restrict passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on Truth Social, he wrote: “Massive numbers of completely empty oil tankers, some of the largest anywhere in the World, are heading, right now, to the United States to load up with the best and “sweetest” oil (and gas!) anywhere in the World.
“We have more oil than the next two largest oil economies combined — and higher quality. We are waiting for you. Quick turnaround!”
Labour ‘politically unprepared for this war’
Britain looks “woefully unprepared” for war in the Middle East, Kemi Badenoch said in a speech criticising Sir Keir Starmer’s response to the crisis.
The Tory leader told the London Defence Conference that the Labour government was “politically unprepared for this war, distracted by its own infighting and psychodrama”.
Badenoch added: “The heart of every patriot, everyone who cares about our armed forces, will have shrunk at the news that our Royal Navy had not a single warship in the Gulf as war was breaking out … and then at the time it took to get HMS Dragon to the Mediterranean … only for her to run into technical problems.”
She also blamed “longstanding policy failures which have left our defence capabilities arguably at their weakest in 400 years”.
Israeli strikes in Lebanon kill ten
Ten people have been killed in an Israeli attack on southern Lebanon, including three emergency workers and a member of the Lebanese civil defence, Lebanon’s health ministry has said.
The deadly strikes hit locations in the Nabatiyeh district. On Friday Israel’s military reported that 40 “additional infrastructures” had also been struck in the south of the country.
Hezbollah said that it was targeting Israeli positions in Kiryat Shmona, northern Israel, with aerial strikes. JD Vance earlier said that an end to the war between Israel and Lebanon would not be up for discussion in Islamabad.
‘The city is almost in lockdown’
Set against the scenic backdrop of the Margalla Hills, Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, is no stranger to diplomatic theatre. But this weekend, the mood is unmistakably different.
American and Iranian officials are present for rare high-level talks, and the city is the focus of global attention.
Motorcades of hundreds of black SUVs swept through unusually hushed roads and streets, a striking contrast to the capital’s normal rhythm. Security has been on high alert: police and military checkpoints line major roads, and access to major areas is closely controlled.
Anjum Naveed/APOutside government buildings, paramilitary Rangers stand on guard — their visibility underscoring the sensitivity of the moment.
A large part of Islamabad, particularly the heavily fortified Red Zone that is home to embassies and key government institutions, has been placed on high alert.
“It seems like a tense stillness hangs over the city,” said Osama Malik, a lawyer who lives in Islamabad, not far from the venue hosting the talks. “The city is almost in a lockdown … citizens are mostly staying indoors. [People] feel a certain sense of pride at holding such an important meeting.”
Confusion over status of talks
Peace talks in Pakistan have so far been marked by confusion over the preconditions set. Reports citing an unknown Iranian source said earlier that an agreement had been made to release Iran’s frozen assets held in Qatar and other foreign banks were also denied by the US.
However, a senior US official said in a message from the White House that this was “false”, adding: “The meetings have not even started yet.”
Tehran has previously said that any agreement on a permanent ceasefire must include the unfreezing of Iran’s sanctioned assets and an end to Israel’s war against Hezbollah in Lebanon. JD Vance has said the latter would not be up for discussion on this occasion.
It is unknown if discussions will take place via Pakistani mediators or if meetings will take place face-to-face. Iranian media said the format of negotiations was yet to be confirmed.
Who is Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf?
The Iranian parliamentary Speaker leading his country’s negotiating delegation in peace talks with the US is a hardline conservative in whom JD Vance has a formidable opponent.
While Abbas Araghchi, the foreign minister, is the face of the regime, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander, represents the combination of military discipline and commitment to maintaining the regime that characterises Iran’s conservative elite.
Born in 1961 in northeast Iran, the son of a shopkeeper rose quickly through the ranks after joining the group during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. He later served as the head of Iran’s police and has retained his position as Speaker since he was elected in June 2021.
“I would like the West to change its attitude to Iran and trust Iran,” he said in an interview in 2008, “and rest assured that there’s an attitude in Iran to advance issues through dialogue.”
Talks to end the war have ‘commenced’, Pakistan says
JD Vance, the US vice-president, held talks with Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan, the latter’s office has said.
“The prime minister reiterated that Pakistan looks forward to continue its facilitation of both sides in making progress towards sustainable peace in the region,” the statement said, adding that talks to end war in the Middle East had “commenced”.
White House warns staff after suspicious bets on oil
The White House has warned staff not to use insider information to trade stocks or place wagers on prediction markets after a series of suspiciously timed bets on events related to the Iran war.
The memo, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, was sent to officials via email on March 24, a day after President Trump ordered a brief pause in some Iran strikes, a White House official said on Thursday.
A suspicious spike in activity in futures markets began shortly before Trump announced the pause via Truth Social, his social media platform. More than $760 million of Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate oil futures changed hands in a two-minute period on the morning of the announcement, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
‘We are always papering over the cracks’
Oliver McTernan, the director of Forward Thinking, a mediation and conflict resolution charity, told the BBC’s Today programme that he was concerned cultural differences between Iranians and Americans would hamper the talks.
He said: “Deep in Iranian culture is the importance of dignity, preserving one’s dignity and avoiding humiliation. We’re meeting that with an American pressure, I think [of] the words of Trump when he said ‘The only reason the Iranian negotiators are alive today is to negotiate’, that doesn’t create the atmosphere that’s needed to succeed.”
He added that he was unsure if JD Vance was prepared to commit enough time to negotiations to secure a long-term solution: “I fear we are always papering over the cracks and then it is only a question of time before we get back into the cycle of violence.”
‘America first, not Israel first’
The US should work in the interest of “America first”, not “Israel first” during peace talks, Iran’s first vice-president has said.
Mohammad Reza Aref said the peace talks could produce a deal if US officials worked in the interest of their country in line with President Trump’s “America first” doctrine.
“However, if we face representatives of ‘Israel first,’ there will be no deal,” Aref said in a social media post. He also warned that “the world will face greater costs” if the talks failed and the war resumed.
Frozen Iranian assets released by US, Iranian source claims
The US has agreed to release frozen Iranian assets held in Qatar and other foreign banks, a senior Iranian source has told Reuters.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary Speaker, previously said that a ceasefire in Lebanon and the “release of Iran’s blocked assets” were preconditions for the start of negotiations with the US. The US has not commented publicly on unfreezing assets.
The source said it was “directly linked to ensuring safe passage through Strait of Hormuz”, which was expected to be a key issue in the talks.
Talks to be held in five-star hotel
The US-Iran talks will take place at a five-star hotel in Islamabad, according to reports.
Pakistani officials told the New York Times that the peace talks would happen at the Serena Hotel, which has been emptied of other guests.
The two sides are scheduled to each meet the Pakistani prime minister beforehand. Egyptian, Saudi, Chinese and Qatari officials are in Islamabad to indirectly facilitate the talks, according to Reuters.
Lebanon must be included in negotiations, says Pakistani minister
Talks will be considered a success if the parties agree to extend the ceasefire and to another round of talks, a senior member of the Pakistani government has said.
Ahsan Iqbal, Pakistan’s minister for planning and development and special initiatives, also told the BBC’s World Service Weekend programme that Lebanon should be included in the ceasefire negotiations between Iran and the US.
He said it “has to be a package ceasefire”, and that it was hoped Israel would “not act as a spoiler for this historic opportunity”.
Iqbal added: “We cannot have one part of the region bleed and have discussions on the other part. I think Israel has to have a more responsible role and not try to extract some spoil before these talks really go anywhere.”
In pictures: Pakistan hosts peace talks
Indonesia to discuss purchase of Russian oil
President Subianto of Indonesia will visit Russia to discuss buying oil, as they war in Iran continues to impact supply.
Subianto is expected to meet President Putin in the coming days on the trip, Indonesia’s foreign minister said.
Sugiono, who goes by one name — a common practice in the country, said that the visit would discuss the potential for Indonesia to buy Russian oil as an alternative source. Indonesia has two tankers trapped by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Internet blackout for 1,008 hours in Iran
The Iranian regime has imposed an internet blackout for more than 1,000 hours since the war began.
Netblocks, which tracks outages, said: “Exactly six weeks ago on Saturday, February 28, #Iran fell victim to a regime-imposed internet blackout that remains in place after 1,008 hours, now entering day 43. The censorship measure’s harms grow daily, damaging livelihoods and violating Iranians’ digital and human rights.”
Three killed in Israeli strikes
Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon have continued, with three killed this morning.
Lebanon’s state media reported multiple Israeli strikes including one which destroyed a residential building in Mayfadoun in the southern province of Nabatieh, killing three.
Hezbollah said it fired a barrage of rockets that targeted a military facility in northern Israel.
Is this America’s Suez Crisis? It could turn out to be worse
For more than five weeks, President Trump bombarded Iran with missiles and bombs — and the American public with contradictory messaging about the aims and duration of this conflict. On Tuesday, having previously threatened to destroy “a whole civilisation”, he agreed instead to a two-week ceasefire.
History provides a useful point of comparison here. Consider an interview given by Vice-President Vance to UnHerd on April 15, 2025. “Just going back through history, I think — frankly — the British and the French were certainly right in their disagreements with Eisenhower about the Suez Canal,” he said.
It will be a richly ironic development if the vice-president of the United States one day finds himself in the position of Harold Macmillan, who succeeded Anthony Eden as prime minister after the Suez Crisis of 1956.
Tribute paid to Iranian schoolgirls
Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs/AFP/Getty ImagesMohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary Speaker, paid tribute to schoolgirls killed in a US missile strike before crucial talks between the countries.
Ghalibaf posted a picture on X showing him on board an airplane looking at portraits of four children killed in the strike in February during the opening stages of the war. He said that the children were his companions on a flight to Pakistan for peace talks. Iran said 168 people, many of them children, were killed when a school was targeted.
A preliminary US military investigation said outdated intelligence likely led to the school attack.
Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs/AFP/Getty Images
Supreme leader’s face ‘disfigured’ and legs ‘significantly injured’
The supreme leader of Iran’s face is disfigured and one or both of his legs significantly injured, according to reports.
Mojtaba Khamenei is known to have been injured in the attack which killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and many of his family members on the first day of the Iran war, but has not been seen since.
Three people close to Khamenei’s inner circle told Reuters that he was recovering from his wounds and remained mentally sharp.
They claimed he was taking part in meetings with senior officials via audio conferencing and was engaged in decision-making on major issues including the war and negotiations with Washington.
A source familiar with US intelligence assessments told Reuters that Khamenei was believed to have lost a leg.
Last month, Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of war, said that Khamenei was “wounded and likely disfigured”.
War shattered Dubai’s safe-haven image. Yet Britons are flocking back
About 30,000 expats have left the UAE during the Iran war, but for many its allure endures. After the ceasefire was declared, they are returning.
That was in August 2025. A few months later, the couple packed their bags and fled the “happy and vibrant” city, as Rio Ferdinand had described it, to escape the sounds of missiles and drones that Iran began launching at its neighbour.
Now in the Maldives, Kate Ferdinand, who had previously expressed misgivings about moving to Dubai, said that the trip was a “nervous system reset”.
US delegation lands in Pakistan
A US government plane carrying top US officials arrived in the Pakistani capital Islamabad for peace talks with Iran, two Pakistani sources told Reuters. Two US air force planes landed at an airbase where they were received by Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, and the foreign minister Ishaq Dar.
The American delegation is led by JD Vance, the vice-president, and also includes the special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
The Iranians arrived on Friday. Their delegation is led by Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the parliamentary Speaker, and includes Abbas Araqchi, the foreign minister.
China ‘preparing to deliver air defence systems to Iran’
China is preparing to deliver air defence systems to Iran within the next few weeks, US intelligence reportedly suggests.
Three people familiar with intelligence assessments told CNN that Beijing is preparing to transfer shoulder-fired anti-air missile systems known as MANPADs.
The sources said Chinese companies had continued to sell Iranians sanctioned dual-use technology that helps Iran build weapons and enhance its navigation systems, but the transfer of weapon systems would be new.
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington said: “China has never provided weapons to any party to the conflict; the information in question is untrue.”
China, the biggest purchaser of Iranian oil, is said to have played a part in encouraging Iran to agree to the ceasefire. President Trump is set to visit China next month.
In the ruins and rubble, bombarded Beirut wants peace
A paper cup of coffee and painkillers lay on a dust-covered wall, fuel for a desperate task. Kassem Abboud had been searching for two days. His daughter Zahraa, 26, was still under the rubble and he was not giving up hope. He stood, with other members of his family, delicately directing a digger to probe deeper into the wreckage.
“I have hope that she’s still alive,” said Hassan Abboud, a cousin of Zahraa’s, standing on a mound of debris with shower gel, toys and photographs discernible amid the shattered masonry. “Our whole family feel destroyed and miserable, like this building,” he said.
Holidays at risk of cancellation as airlines face fuel crisis
Half-term breaks and summer holidays are at risk of cancellation from the fuel crisis caused by the Iran war.
Airports in Europe have warned they will run out of jet fuel within weeks unless supplies from the Middle East increase dramatically.
In a letter to the EU, they said that the continent could face a “systemic” jet fuel shortage if the Strait of Hormuz did not open within the next three weeks.
600 vessels in Strait of Hormuz ‘will take weeks to clear’
More than 600 vessels are trapped in the Middle East by the Iran conflict and clearing them will take “several weeks” even if traffic through the Strait of Hormuz returns to normal levels, shipping analysts have warned.
The strait remains effectively closed to most shipping traffic. The vast majority of transits that have taken place are linked to Iran “either through trade, ownership, sanctions or historic trade”, Lloyd’s List, a provider of shipping data and analysis, said.
Iran still has ‘thousands of ballistic missiles’
US intelligence has assessed that Iran still has thousands of ballistic missiles it could use by retrieving launchers from underground storage depots, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The assessment clashes with what Pete Hegseth, the war secretary, told reporters this week.
He said that Iran’s missile programme is “functionally destroyed” with launchers and missiles “depleted and decimated and almost completely ineffective”. If Iran retains significant strike capabilities it adds to Tehran’s leverage during negotiations over a permanent ceasefire.
Starmer: We need to do more in Nato
Sir Keir Starmer has said European allies must “do more” in Nato after President Trump stepped up threats to quit the alliance.
The prime minister said: “We’re very strong supporters of Nato and I’ve been making the argument for some considerable time that we need to do more. It’s the single most effective military alliance the world has ever known.
“Do we Europeans need to do more? Yes, I’ve been making that argument for the best part of two years, to our European partners as much as anybody else.”
He added: “It is in America’s interests, it’s in European interests. Nato is a defensive alliance, which for decades has kept us much safer than we would otherwise have been… We’ll always be strong supporters of Nato. Do I think this will be a stronger European element to Nato? Yes, and I think we should step into that space.”
Negotiations will begin after US accepts preconditions, Iran says
An Iranian negotiating delegation led by the parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf arrived in Islamabad on Friday for peace talks with the US, Iranian media reported, adding that negotiations would begin if Washington accepted Tehran’s “preconditions”.
The delegation included senior political, military and economic officials, including the Iranian foreign minister, defence council secretary, central bank governor and several members of parliament.
Vance warns Iran not to ‘play’ US in talks
JD Vance, the US vice-president, said he was looking forward to negotiations but warned Iran not to “play us”.
Speaking before leaving Washington for Pakistan, he said: “As the president of the United States said, if the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we’re certainly willing to extend the open hand.”
He added: “If they’re going to try to play us, then they’re going to find the negotiating team is not that receptive.”
Vance is joined by special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Trump: US will not allow Iran to toll Strait of Hormuz
President Trump told reporters the United States will have the Strait of Hormuz “open fairly soon”.
Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One, Trump said the strait would open “automatically”.
“We’re going to open up the gulf with or without them … or the strait as they call it. I think it’s going to go pretty quickly, and if it doesn’t, we’ll be able to finish it off,” he said.
“We don’t use the strait, other countries use the strait,” he added.
Trump went on to say he would not allow Iran to charge passing ships a toll fee. “We’re not going to let that [happen] … it’s international waters”
Trump also wished JD Vance luck ahead of the ceasefire talks in Pakistan. “I wish him well,” he said.
Israel refuses to discuss Hezbollah truce despite ‘pressure from US’
Israel refused to discuss a ceasefire with Hezbollah, but has agreed to begin formal peace negotiations with Lebanon on Tuesday, Israel’s ambassador to the US said.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese government and the Trump administration have asked Israel for a “pause” in its attacks against Hezbollah before direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon begin next week, Axios reported.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
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