US-Iran war talks in Pak highlights: ‘No plans’ for next round of talks with US, says Tehran; Vance departs without deal

US-Iran war talks in Pakistan LIVE: Iran's preconditions of a ceasefire in Lebanon and removal of sanctions has put the crucial Islamabad talks in doubt even though the Iranian delegation has landed in Islamabad. US delegation led by vice president JD Vance is en route Pakistan and the talks are likely to begin soon.

US-Iran war LIVE: The White House on Friday revealed the design and plans for a new triumphal arch that will soon be built near the US Capitol. The structure will be 250 feet (76 metres) tall, making it taller than both the US Capitol building and the Lincoln Memorial. The arch is one of US President Donald Trump’s most personal projects, as he aims to shape Washington, DC, in his own style. Trump said it would be the greatest and most beautiful arch in the world, and something Americans will enjoy for decades to come.

“I am pleased to announce that today my Administration officially filed the presentation and plans with the highly respected Commission of Fine Arts for what will be the Greatest and MOST BEAUTIFUL Triumphal Arch anywhere in the world. This will be a wonderful addition to the Washington, DC, area for all Americans to enjoy for many decades to come,” the White House said, quoting Trump. Read full report here

US-Iran war LIVE: China is  preparing to deliver new air defense systems to Iran  within the next few weeks, US intelligence has indicated according to a  CNN report.

The report said there are indications that Beijing is working to route  the shipments  through third countries to  mask their origin.

Beijing is preparing to transfer shoulder-fired anti-air missile systems known as MANPADs, CNN said, citing sources.

This comes amid a high-level meeting between US and Iran being held in Islamabad today after the two sides agreed on a ceasefire early this week.

US-Iran war LIVE: Air raid sirens have bee sounded across norther Israel after Hezbollah shot drones towards Israel, Press TV reported.

US-Iran war talks in Pakistan LIVE: Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf’s selection to lead the talks places a senior and influential figure at the centre of high-stakes negotiations. Born in 1961 near Mashhad in northeastern Iran, Ghalibaf comes from a modest background as the son of a grocer. His political journey began early during the Islamic Revolution, when he became involved in activism, Times.com reported.

According to Iranian state-owned Press TV, Ghalibaf and his classmates founded the Islamic Students’ Association as teenagers, which later grew into a national organisation, the report further mentioned.

At the age of 18, Ghalibaf joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), then a newly formed force operating alongside Iran’s armed forces. Over the years, the IRGC has evolved into one of the country’s most powerful and influential institutions.

Read more here

US-Iran war LIVE: The war in Lebanon has left over 1 million people displaced, the UN Refugee Agency has said. Terming the Israeli strikes on Lebanon as ‘most devastating’, the UN body said that ensuring safety of those displaced is ‘paramount’.

“As the country reels from the largest and most devastating Israeli attacks of the current conflict in Beirut, ensuring safety is paramount,” it said in a post on X.

US-Iran war talks in Pakistan LIVE: Iranian parliament speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf shared a image of his flight to Islamabad which showed blood-soaked school bags and photographs of children killed in Minab school strike. “My companions on this flight,” as he shared the post showing photographs of the victims pinned to the plane seats with blood-soaked bags and white flowers. At least 175 students and teachers were killed when US-Israeli strikes targeted the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school in southern Iran's Minab city in the beginning of the Iran-US war.

US-Iran war talks in Pakistan LIVE: As US vice president JD was en route Islamabad to lead to US delegation for the negotiations, Trump wished him luck and said, “Well, I wish them luck. He's got a big thing. I'll find out what's going on. They're militarily defeated, and now we're going to open up the gulf (Strait of Hormuz) with or without a deal. But that'll be open, we're going to be on the straight as they call it.”

Vance is leading the US delegation and is on his way to Islamabad. His plane stopped on Saturday morning for refuelling in Paris before flying on to the Pakistani capital.

US-Iran war talks in Pakistan LIVE: The key talks between the US and Iran amid a two-week pause to Middle East fighting are being held in Islamabad, Pakistan. Hotel Serena, which is in the vicinity of high-profile government buildings, is reported to be the venue of the talks.

US vice president JD Vance is leading the American delegation that includes Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff. The 71-member Iranian delegation, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, is already in Islamabad and includes foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.

The talks are expected to centre around a 15-point proposal sent by the US to Iran, to which Tehran responded with a 10-point counterproposal. Iran is firm on its preconditions for the talks that includes a ceasefire in Lebanon and release of Iran’s blocked assets. More details here

US-Iran war talks in Pakistan LIVE: Iran delegation lead and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Friday said that the US must must accept the precondition, including the ceasefire in Lebanon, for the negotiations to begin. “Two of the measures mutually agreed upon between the parties have yet to be implemented: a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of Iran’s blocked assets prior to the commencement of negotiations. These two matters must be fulfilled before negotiations begin,” Ghalibaf wrote on X.

US-Iran war talks in Pakistan LIVE: Pakistan foreign ministry shared a video of Iranian delegation landing in Pakistan ahead of the crucial talks with the US in Islamabad. The Iranian delegation of 71 members, being led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, landed in the South Asian country after multiple delays late on Friday night. Meanwhile, the security in Islamabad has been stepped up in view of the high-stakes negotiations.

US-Iran war talks in Pakistan LIVE: US Vice President JD Vance is on his way to Islamabad to lead the American delegation for upcoming talks with Iran.

The aircraft carrying Vance made a brief stop in Paris for refuelling before continuing its journey to the Pakistani capital, where high-stakes negotiations are set to take place, reported AFP.

US-Iran war talks in Pakistan LIVE: Security in Islamabad has been heightened ahead of the key Iran-US talks to be held today at Hotel Serena. The venue of the talks is in the vicinity of key government buildings and embassies in Pakistan's capital city.

US-Iran war news live: As Israel pounded Lebanon with deadly strikes after the US-Iran ceasefire, Tehran reportedly forced Israel to halt the attacks as it threatened to withdraw from Islamabad talks. Iran's state media Press TV quoted a source saying that Iran set the halt on Lebanon strikes as a precondition for peace talks with the US in Islamabad. The source was also quoted as saying that Iranian delegations' departure to Islamabad was delayed a few times over Israel's aggression against Lebanon.

US-Iran war news live: Iran's preconditions for peace process with the US includes a pause to Israel's offensive against Lebanon and release of Iran’s blocked assets. Chief Iran negotiator and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said this on Friday ahead of Islamabad talks.

Earlier, Iran proposed a 10-point peace proposal in response to Trump's Iran peace proposal. The proposal calls for end to all aggression, including against Lebanon, as Trump referred to Iran's proposal as a "workable basis on which to negotiate and the main framework for these talks."

US-Iran war news live: The Iranian delegation that arrived in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Friday includes 71 delegates and is led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

The negotiators, according to Tasnim news, include:

• Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.
• Central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati
• Secretary of the Supreme National Defence Council Ali Akbar Ahmadian.
• Deputy minister of foreign affairs Kezem Gharibabadi.
• Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei.

US-Iran war news live: Israeli Defence Force (IDF) on Friday claimed it eliminated 180 Hezbollah terrorists within one minute of its deadly Lebanon strikes on Wednesday. It said the strikes targeted Hezbollah's command centers and military infrastructure in Beirut, Beqaa, and southern Lebanon, alleging that Hezbollah trying to expand their activity from Beirut northward into additional areas.

“The large-scale wave of strikes was based on precise and high-quality intelligence, while using high-quality capabilities that allowed striking multiple areas simultaneously within a single minute,” the IDF said in a statement.

US-Iran war news live: Israel continued to pound Lebanon with missile strikes on Friday even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved talks next week. Israel-Lebanon flare-up since Wednesday threatened the ceasefire in the Middle East even as Tehran demand that they be halted as a condition of the truce with Washington. Israel has said the US-Iran ceasefire does not cover Lebanon.

Israel launched massive strikes and a ground invasion of Lebanon after attacking Iran on February 28, in response to rocket fire into Israel from Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Shia Muslim movement and militant group.

Lebanese authorities say the weeks of hostilities have killed more than 1,950 people, with Israeli strikes killing more than 350 people Wednesday alone, the first full day of the US-Iran ceasefire.

US-Iran war news live: Lack of trust was evident from the remarks of the Iranian and US delegations even as the key Islamabad talks are set to begin. “If the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we are certainly willing to extend an open hand," US's lead negotiator vice president JD Vance said as he left for Islamabad.

A similar sentiment was reflected in the remarks of the Iranian side as the delegation, with more than 70 members and headed by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, arrived first in Islamabad.

"We have good intentions but we do not trust," Iranian state TV quoted Ghalibaf as saying upon his arrival in Pakistan's capital. "Our experience in negotiating with the Americans has always been met with failure and broken promises."

US-Iran war news live: US President Donald Trump vowed Friday to have the Strait of Hormuz open "with or without" Iran's cooperation and said his top priority in peace talks was to ensure Tehran can't have a nuclear weapon.

In a Truth Social post, Trump also said that Iran has "no cards" in upcoming talks with the United States, apart from its effective stranglehold on the crucial Strait of Hormuz shipping channel.

In a separate interview with the New York Post, Trump said US warships are being reloaded with weaponry to strike Iran if the talks in Pakistan fail to produce a deal.

"We have a reset going. We're loading up the ships with the best ammunition, the best weapons ever made -- even better than what we did previously and we blew them apart," the Post quoted Trump as saying.

via AFP

US-Iran war news live: While the Iranian delegation has arrived in Pakistan's capital Islamabad, US vice president JD Vance is en route for the key peace talks amid two-week pause in the Middle East fighting. The Islamabad talks will cover sensitive points, including Iran's nuclear enrichment and the free flow of trade through the Strait of Hormuz, AFP reported quoting sources.

US-Iran war news live: Iran’s nationwide internet blackout has now crossed 1,000 hours of near-total disruption, according to internet monitoring group NetBlocks.

The shutdown, which began on February 28 amid US-Israeli strikes, has left most users in the country cut off from the global internet, with access largely restricted to the state-controlled National Information Network. Connectivity levels have reportedly fallen to around 1% of normal service.

NetBlocks says the ongoing outage has now entered its 42nd day, making it the longest internet blackout recorded anywhere in the world, reported Iran international.

US-Iran war news live: The Iranian delegation, led by Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has arrived in Islamabad ahead of the scheduled ceasefire talks with the United States.

According to Pakistan’s foreign office (FO), the visiting team was received by some of the country’s top leadership on arrival, including deputy Prime Minister and foreign minister Ishaq Dar, chief of defence forces and army chief Asim Munir, speaker of the national assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, and interior minister Mohsin Naqvi

US-Iran war news live: Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf shared a photo from his journey to Pakistan, carrying photographs of victims from the Minab incident aboard the official flight.

Posting on X, Ghalibaf wrote, “My companions on this flight.” The message was accompanied by the hashtag #Minab168.

US-Iran war news live: Iran signalled both caution and intent as its delegation arrived in Islamabad, with Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf reiterating Tehran’s deep mistrust of Washington even as talks with the American side loom.

Speaking to reporters upon arrival, Ghalibaf said past engagements with the US have repeatedly broken down.

"Our experience of negotiations with the Americans has always been met with failure and breach of promise."

He pointed to past incidents to underline the trust deficit: "They attacked us twice in the middle of the negotiations. We have goodwill but no trust."

The remarks, reported by Tasnim News Agency, came in response to recent comments by US Vice President JD Vance, as both sides prepare for high-stakes discussions.