World awaits deal

ISLAMABAD: The US and Iranian interlocutors on Saturday began their peace talks in Islamabad to seek a deal aimed at ending the conflict in the Middle East, Pakistani officials said, amid hopes of a permanent deal as a fragile ceasefire continued to hold. There are no details of the talk as the time of going to print.
The two delegations began face-to-face talks in the evening in the presence of Pakistani intermediaries after a day of doubts and secrecy that triggered speculations whether the US and Iranian officials would actually meet or not.
Rumours swirled throughout the day suggesting the Iranian delegation might not sit with the US negotiators and only messages would be exchanged through Pakistani mediators.
'But they have started well,' a Pakistani security source said, requesting his name not be mentioned.
The US delegation is led by Vice-President JD Vance while Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner are assisting him.
Iran's Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf is heading the delegation from his country, assisted by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and several other senior officials.
This is for the time that US and Iranian officials have held direct talks since the conflict began 40 days ago.
Earlier, US and Iranian delegations met separately with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of formal peace talks, officials said.
Sharif first met with the Iranian delegation led by the parliamentary speaker.
A meeting was also held with the US delegation led by Vance hours after he arrived in Islamabad for Pakistan-mediated talks.
Multiple sessions of talks may be held in a bid to reach a permanent agreement on Saturday and Sunday, Pakistan's intelligence officials said.
Pakistan brokered a two-week ceasefire this week as part of efforts to end the conflict that began with US and Israeli attacks on Iranian targets on February 28. Those initial strikes also killed the country's supreme leader, ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Up to 10,000 security personnel, including the army, paramilitary forces and police, have been tasked with safeguarding the talks in the Pakistani capital, alongside intelligence operatives.
A so-called red zone, including the hotel where the talks are expected to take place, has been sealed off for the duration of the negotiations.
Meanwhile. Iran's Navy has warned a US warship against transiting the Strait of Hormuz, threatening an attack if it proceeds, as Tehran and Washington opened peace talks in Pakistan, Iranian state media reported on Saturday.
Forces of the Islamic Republic were closely monitoring the US destroyer, the Tasnim News Agency reported. If the vessel continued on its course, it would face an attack, the report said. — dpa