With US Vice President JD Vance in Islamabad for ‘make-or-break’ talks, news agency Reuters, quoting a senior Iranian official told news agency that Washington had agreed to release Iranian frozen ⁠assets that ​were held in Qatar and other foreign banks. The official welcomed ​the move ​as a sign ⁠of “seriousness” in reaching a deal with Washington ‌in talks in Islamabad.

The claim was swiftly denied by a senior official in the White House.

The Iranian official, who declined ⁠to be ‌identified ​due to the ‌sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters that ‌unfreezing ​the ​assets ​was “directly linked to ensuring safe ​passage through the Strait of Hormuz“, ⁠which is expected to be a ‌key ⁠issue in the talks.

The ceasefire talks in the Pakistani capital are taking place during a two-week halt in the US-Israel war against Iran, which began with US-Israel attacks on February 28. Iran retaliated by targeting its Gulf neighbors housing US military bases—an action that put the Middle East under threat and sent shockwaves through the global economy.

Iran and the US reached an agreement after Pakistan brokered a temporary ceasefire on April 8.

Vance holds talks with Pakistan’s Sharif

“As the Islamabad Talks commenced today”, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting with US Vice President JD Vance. The US Vice President was assisted by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner while the Pakistani side included Deputy Prime Minister & Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Interior Minister Mohsin Raza Naqvi.

According to Al Jazeera, Pakistan is pushing for direct talks between the US and Iran. The Oatar-based channel, quoting a diplomatic source in Islamabad, reported that Islamabad is making strenuous efforts at the highest level to ensure that the US and Iran hold direct negotiations – with Pakistani participation.

Here’s what we know:

As per the plan, Pakistan will initiate the talks to begin with a handshake between the heads of the two delegations, or with a Pakistani official standing between them.
The negotiations, which are expected to be direct, are scheduled to begin immediately at 11:30 GMT and continue into the evening.
If the two parties reach an agreement, the development will be seen as a significant breakthrough and further progress can be achieved.
Otherwise, negotiations will be held indirectly and will last just today, Al Jazeera said, quoting a diplomatic source.