With a fragile ceasefire barely holding and tensions still flaring, Islamabad is set to host talks between the warring parties this Saturday.
Just minutes before a self-imposed deadline — an unprecedented threat to wipe out “a whole civilisation” — was set to expire, US President Donald Trump announced early Wednesday a two-week ceasefire halting the US-Israeli war on Iran, which has engulfed the Middle East.
The development, anxiously awaited by much of the world, followed a long night of back-channel diplomacy spearheaded by Pakistan. Now, with a fragile ceasefire barely holding and tensions still flaring, Islamabad is set to host talks between the warring parties this Saturday.
In an earlier post on Truth Social, Trump said the US had received a 10-point proposal from Iran, which he described as “a workable basis on which to negotiate”. On the other hand, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi mentioned a 15-point US proposal that negotiators said could end the conflict.
But neither of the proposals have been formally unveiled as yet. Versions of both have been leaked and published online, and they seem to be poles apart, making the upcoming negotiations all the more critical.
The ‘Islamabad Talks’, scheduled to begin on April 11, will see high-level teams from Washington and Tehran arrive in Pakistan this Friday. From what we know so far, both sides have chosen strong representation, from US Vice President JD Vance to Iran’s Araghchi.
Here’s a closer look at who is expected to be at the table, their roles, and the actions that have shaped the conflict leading up to these pivotal talks.
Team America
A top ally and potential heir to Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ movement, JD Vance, the 50th vice president of the US, is leading the American side.
Before entering politics, Vance served in the US Marine Corps and was deployed to Iraq, where he worked as a military journalist. The experience shaped his early worldview, turning him into a sharp critic of American military involvement overseas. After returning to civilian life, he worked in Silicon Valley-linked investment firms, connections that later helped fund his political campaign in 2022.
The 2016-era Vance was openly critical of Trump, positioning himself as someone focused on the economic uplift of his community — often described as the man who understood what “communities needed”.
His transformation since has been stark.
Vance, once “never a Trump-guy”, is now firmly aligned with the president, standing beside him on decisions regarding American involvement overseas — an idea he had initially opposed.
Since the beginning of the war on Iran, Vance has maintained a noticeably measured distance from ‘Operation Epic Fury’. But distance does not mean disengagement. In fact, in the past few days, Vance has quietly emerged as a central figure in Pakistan’s mediation efforts.
Vance held a call with intermediaries in Islamabad on Tuesday at Trump’s direction. During the conversation, he signalled that the US president was open to a ceasefire, provided certain US demands were met, and delivered what Reuters described as a “stern message” that the president was impatient, warning that pressure on Iranian infrastructure would intensify if Tehran failed to agree to a deal.
According to Al Jazeera, Field Marshal Asim Munir has been in contact with Vance as part of an intensive mediation effort that began in late March. Vance had prepared twice to travel to Islamabad for talks with Iranian counterparts, but both visits were cancelled at the last minute after Tehran requested more time for internal deliberations, and ultimately declined to participate.
Despite these setbacks, Iran appears to view Vance as a more credible interlocutor than other senior US envoys. According to The Telegraph, Iran refused to engage with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner following military strikes on Tehran that took place just hours after earlier rounds of talks.
“Vance is preferred,” a Gulf source said.
Similar dynamics played out earlier in June, when US officials were engaged in negotiations with Tehran shortly before Israel, followed by the US, launched strikes during the 12-day war. Another Gulf source noted that Iranian officials believe Vance will adhere to commitments made at the negotiating table, possibly due to his earlier positions on military restraint.
A real estate billionaire-turned-diplomat, Witkoff has emerged as one of the most consequential figures shaping Washington’s approach to Iran in the lead-up to and during the conflict. A longtime ally of Trump, Witkoff has served as the United States Special Envoy to the Middle East and Special Envoy for Peace Missions since 2025.
On February 26, 2026, Witkoff, alongside presidential adviser Kushner, led high-stakes negotiations with Iran aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and regional activities. The talks ultimately collapsed, culminating in the US-Israel war on Iran.
Diplomats later described Witkoff as a central player in the breakdown, with one Gulf official accusing him of pursuing “unorthodox” diplomacy that contributed to the escalation.
By late March, Witkoff had re-emerged as a central diplomatic figure, signalling a possible shift toward negotiations. He announced that Washington had presented Iran with a 15-point action plan to open talks, saying Tehran appeared to be “seeking an off-ramp” from the conflict. He also confirmed Pakistan’s role as an early mediator, marking the first concrete diplomatic effort since hostilities began.
As pressure mounted internationally, Witkoff continued working alongside senior US officials to prepare for direct talks. He was part of the core team tasked with negotiating key US objectives, including reopening the Strait of Hormuz and addressing Iran’s nuclear programme.
However, Witkoff is not so popular as a negotiator. Recently, Iran expressed strong reservations about US-linked figures involved in mediation efforts, telling intermediaries it does not trust Witkoff and Kushner and does not want them involved in future negotiations, Middle East Monitor reported.
Citing a diplomatic source, the report said Iran considers the two envoys unreliable interlocutors, describing previous engagements with them as “not constructive”, and signalling a preference for alternative channels in any future diplomatic process.
Kushner is Trump’s son-in-law and the founder of Miami-based private equity firm Affinity Partners. He launched Affinity in 2021, and the firm managed more than $5.4 billion in assets as of September 2025.
According to Forbes, the firm has raised $4.6bn from high-profile Middle Eastern backers, such as the Saudi and Qatari sovereign wealth funds, as well as Foxconn founder Terry Gou. From 2008 to 2017, he served as CEO of Kushner Companies, the real estate company co-founded by his father and grandfather. He served as a senior adviser to Trump during the president’s first term from 2017 to 2021.
Since last summer, he has once again emerged as a high-level peace envoy for Trump and helped broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. He also steered negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war and had been directly involved in negotiations with Iran over Tehran’s nuclear programme.
On April 7, on the sidelines of an Easter Egg Roll at the White House, Trump told reporters that Vance, Witkoff, and Kushner were speaking with intermediaries in Pakistan. However, earlier in March, Iran had refused to negotiate with Witkoff and Kushner, accusing them of “backstabbing”.
Reference Link:- https://www.dawn.com/news/1990170