By Parisa Hafezi and Angus McDowall

DUBAI, April 11 (Reuters) - Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is still recovering from severe facial and leg injuries suffered in the airstrike that killed his father at the beginning of the war, three people close to his inner circle told Reuters.

Khamenei's face was disfigured in the attack on the supreme leader's compound in central Tehran and he suffered a significant injury to one or both legs, all three sources said.

ISLAMABAD, April 11 (Reuters) - A U.S. government plane carrying top U.S. officials landed in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Saturday for peace talks with Iran, two Pakistani sources told Reuters.

Washington and Tehran are due to begin negotiations seeking to end the six-week-old Iran war that has killed thousands of people across the Middle East, disrupted energy supplies, fed inflation and slowed the global economy.

(Reporting by Asif Shahzad and Ariba Shahid, writing by Tanvi Mehta; Editing by YP Rajesh)

By Ariba Shahid and Asif Shahzad

ISLAMABAD, April 11 (Reuters) - The U.S. and Iran were to hold negotiations in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Saturday seeking to end their six-week-old war, although Tehran threw the talks into doubt by saying they could not begin without commitments on Lebanon and sanctions.

The U.S. delegation, led by Vice President JD Vance and including President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, was on its way to Islamabad after a refuelling stop in Paris.

April 11 (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence indicates China is  preparing to deliver new air defense systems to Iran  within the next few weeks, CNN reported late on Friday, citing three  people familiar with recent intelligence assessments.

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

The U.S. State Department, White House and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

By Ariba Shahid and Asif Shahzad

ISLAMABAD, April 11 (Reuters) - The U.S. and Iran were to hold negotiations in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Saturday to end their six-week-old war, although Tehran threw the talks into doubt by saying they could not begin without commitments on Lebanon and sanctions.

The U.S. delegation, led by Vice President JD Vance and including President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, was on its way to Islamabad after a refuelling stop in Paris.

By Bo Erickson and Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that the U.S. will have the Strait of Hormuz "open fairly soon" but did not elaborate and acknowledged that it will not be an easy step.

Trump also suggested that other countries were offering help but did not identify any nation.

"Other countries use the strait. So we do have other countries coming up, and they'll help out," Trump said.

"It won't be easy ... I would say this - we will have that open fairly soon," Trump added.

By Simon Lewis and Nandita Bose

WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) - A U.S. team led by Vice President JD Vance left for Islamabad on Friday for weekend talks with Iran, even as both sides accused each other of breaking commitments made to secure a temporary ceasefire.

White House officials said they were skeptical that the talks could immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran's lead negotiators threw the talks into doubt by saying they could not even begin without commitments on Lebanon and sanctions.

By Phil Stewart and Nandita Bose

WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) - The White House considered but decided against a national televised address by President Donald Trump on Tuesday about his ceasefire deal with Iran, with some aides and advisers privately voicing concern about potentially overselling the still-nascent agreement, three U.S. officials told Reuters.

By Gram Slattery, Humeyra Pamuk, Steve Holland and Nandita Bose

WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) - When JD Vance arrives in Islamabad for talks on Saturday with Iranian officials, it will fulfill a wish for Tehran's remaining leaders, some of whom have quietly sought the U.S. vice president to take a lead role in negotiations to end the war, according to several sources familiar with the matter.

Iran views Vance as one of the most anti-war figures in President Donald Trump's inner circle, said one regional official and four people familiar with the talks.

President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran has "no cards" in upcoming talks with the United States -- apart from Tehran's effective stranglehold on the crucial Strait of Hormuz shipping channel.

"The Iranians don't seem to realize they have no cards, other than a short term extortion of the World by using International Waterways," Trump said on his Truth Social network.

"The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!"