Iran team arrives for US talks as Lebanon, Israel make first contact

Iran’s negotiating delegation arrived in Islamabad on Friday ahead of US-led talks, as the US team — led by Vice President JD Vance — is en route.

The Iranian delegation is led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and includes Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Defense Council Secretary Ali Akbar Ahmadian, Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati, and several lawmakers.

Meanwhile, Lebanon said Friday it had made its first direct contact with Israel via a phone call between their ambassadors in Washington.

The Lebanese presidency said in a statement that the parties agreed to hold their first meeting on Tuesday in Washington at the US State Department to discuss a truce and set a timeframe for US mediated talks.

Despite the diplomatic contacts, Israeli strikes on Lebanon continued on Friday. One strike in Nabatieh, in southern Lebanon, killed 13 security personnel, according to Lebanese authorities. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Friday that at least 1,953 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since March 2.

In a sign of the ceasefire’s fragility, President Donald Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Friday that the Iranians “have no cards, other than a short-term extortion of the World by using International Waterways,” referencing the Iranian-blocked Strait of Hormuz, which remains a major sticking point in negotiations. Only two ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.