Al Jazeera

By Stephen Quillen and Nils Adler

    US and Iranian negotiators continue to hold historic, in-person ceasefire talks in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad.

    Sources close to the mediation tell Al Jazeera that both sides have exchanged written texts amid the continuing discussions – the first direct talks between Washington and Tehran since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

    US Vice President JD Vance, who is leading the US delegation, and senior Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, also met separately with Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif ahead of the talks.

    Israel has continued to attack Lebanon, where at least 2,020 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since early March, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

    The Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors in the US have held a phone call in first reported direct contact between the two countries, before ceasefire talks are expected to be held in the US next week.

    Visit our live tracker for the latest casualty figures from across the region.

Death toll from Israeli attack in Lebanon’s Tefahta rises to 13: State media

    A total of 13 people have now been confirmed killed in an earlier Israeli air raid on southern Lebanon’s Tefahta, the country’s National News Agency (NNA) is reporting.

    NNA also reported several new Israeli attacks throughout southern Lebanon in recent hours, including in Kfar Tebnit, Srifa, Debaal, Az-Zrariyah, Bint Jbeil, Arzoun and Abbasiyeh.

Netanyahu says Israel wants enduring ‘peace agreement’ with Lebanon

By Ali Hashem

Reporting from Tehran, Iran

    As we’ve reported, Israel has agreed to start formal negotiations with Lebanon next week, following weeks of fierce attacks and a ground invasion into parts of the country.

    In a video address, Netanyahu said Israel is open to a peace deal with the country, but only if such a deal is long-lasting and Hezbollah’s weapons are “dismantled”.

    “Lebanon has approached us. In the past month, it has reached out several times to begin direct peace talks,” said Netanyahu.

    “I have given my approval, but on two conditions: We want the dismantling of Hezbollah’s weapons, and we want a real peace agreement that will last for generations.”

Talks continue after drafts exchanged at delegate level

By Kimberly Halkett

Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan

    Al Jazeera has learned from its sources inside the Serena Hotel (where talks are taking place) that the Iranians intend to stay the night.

    These discussions are still ongoing, and they have no plan to leave Islamabad immediately after their working sessions break up.

    We also know that an exchange of drafts at the delegate level has indicated there is some progress on a basic framework, but what those points of agreement are remains very unclear.

    Although there was no official schedule, US Vice President Vance was to be on the ground in Pakistan for about 24 hours.

    He is now into his roughly 13th hour on the ground. So that means that, if they stick to that schedule and don’t prolong it, the clock is ticking.

Strait of Hormuz: What is each side demanding

    The Gulf waterway, which has been effectively blocked by Iran since the US-Israeli war began, is a major transit point for ⁠about 20 percent of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.

    The biggest-ever disruption has fuelled inflation and slowed the global economy, with an impact expected to last for months even if negotiators succeed in reopening the strait.

    Here is what the US and Iran are each demanding:

    Tehran is demanding control of the Strait of Hormuz.

    It also seeks to collect transit fees from vessels seeking to transit through the waterway.

    Trump’s stated goals have varied during the ⁠war, but the US has said it wants free passage for global shipping through the strait.

    Earlier this week, Trump caused widespread alarm and anger after he said “a whole civilisation will die” in Iran unless its government agreed to allow ships to freely pass through Hormuz.

Democrats criticise participation of Kushner, Witkoff in Pakistan talks

    In a post on X, Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee noted that the US delegation engaged in Iran talks includes Trump’s “son-in-law and his real estate developer golf buddy”, referring to Kushner and Witkoff.

    The pair are “the same two whose last ‘diplomatic’ effort was cover for starting this pointless and costly war”, the post reads. “Not a great way to signal a diplomat reset.”

Iranian military ‘strongly’ denies US claim two ships transited through Hormuz

    We have a short statement from the spokesperson of the Iranian military’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters.

    “The claim by the CENTCOM commander regarding the approach and entry of American vessels into the Strait of Hormuz is strongly denied,” the spokesperson said.

    “The initiative for the passage and movement of any vessel is in the hands of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

    As we reported earlier, CENTCOM said two US vessels “transited the Strait of Hormuz and operated in the Arabian Gulf as part of a broader mission to ensure the strait is fully clear of sea mines previously laid by Iran’s [IRGC]”.

Ceasefire lifts shutters in Iran, but vendors say sales remain slow

By Maziar Motamedi

Reporting from Tehran, Iran

    More people in Iran are returning to work this week as a pause in fighting provides temporary respite from bombardment by the US and Israel, but the economic outlook remains grim for most.

    In the network of narrow corridors, workshops and warehouses in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, a commercial hub in the capital, more shops were open and for longer hours today – the first day of the working week – compared with before the ceasefire.

    Sales, however, continued to be slow compared with the period before the war, merchants said.

    “It’s almost complete stagnation,” said a vendor who works in the section of the bazaar selling metal goods, tools and light industrial items.

Qatar announces ‘full return of maritime navigation’ as of Sunday

    Qatar’s Ministry of Transport says maritime navigation will resume “for all types of maritime vessels and ships” from 6am-6pm local time (03:00-15:00 GMT) on Sunday.

    It added that, as per a previous announcement, sailing is also allowed daily “for maritime vessels licensed for fishing activity”.

‘We still have more to do’ in Iran, says Netanyahu

    We can now bring you more comments from the Israeli prime minister, who has released a video address on X.

    Netanyahu promised that Israel’s military campaign against Iran “is not over” even though Israel has already made what he described as “historic achievements”.

    “We hit them, we still have more to do,” he said.

US-Iran talks in Pakistan enter sixth hour

By Abid Hussain

Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan

    Information from the Serena Hotel has slowed, with sources close to the Iranian delegation telling Al Jazeera that US demands on the Strait of Hormuz are “too ambitious”, and discussions are seemingly at a stalemate.

    There is no clarity on how long negotiations will continue tonight; whether they will continue on Sunday, or whether US VP Vance will delay his return to the United States.

    While no official departure schedule was announced, he had been expected to spend less than 24 hours in Pakistan. Vance arrived at about 11am local time on Saturday.

    The Iranian delegation, which arrived past midnight, has also had a busy day, holding bilateral meetings with Pakistan’s PM Sharif before the negotiations began.

    At the Jinnah Convention Centre, across from the venue where talks are being held, a large group of journalists has been waiting for hours. Energy levels are visibly flagging after a long day with no breakthrough to report.

Delegations appear to be ‘working into the night’

By Kimberly Halkett

Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan

    This trip in particular has been much more secretive in terms of leaks and what is going on than we’ve seen in the past.

    The lights are still on at the Serena Hotel, where the delegations are currently meeting. That means they are working into the night. It is 11pm here local time in Islamabad (18:00 GMT), and there is no sign that these parties are breaking up.

    There had been some reporting that talks had concluded. That was actually an end to a breakout session. The groups had broken up … and were exchanging notes back and forth. And then they realised they could get to a point where they could once again resume these face-to-face talks.

Sirens sounding in northern Israel

    Air raid sirens are sounding in Kiryat Shmona and surrounding areas after Hezbollah launched a “rocket barrage” at northern Israel, Israeli news outlet Haaretz is reporting.

Iraq parliament elects Kurdish politician Nizar Amedi as president

    Iraq’s parliament has elected Nizar Amedi as the country’s new president, ending a political deadlock that had paralysed government formation.

    Amedi was nominated by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and secured 227 votes in a second round of voting, comfortably defeating independent candidate Muthanna Amin Nader, who received 15 votes.

    He becomes the sixth Iraqi head of state since the removal of Saddam Hussein in a US-led invasion in 2003.

Iran’s delegation stuck between a rock and a hard place on Lebanon

By Ali Hashem

Reporting from Tehran, Iran

    What we are hearing is that the Iranians were able to get a kind of guarantee from the US that Israel is going to decrease its attacks on Lebanon.

    Then we heard from Iranian media sources – on state media outlets – that the US is going to unfreeze Iranian funds.

    But there’s nothing that’s been confirmed from the other side, or even from Israel, with respect to Lebanon. Yes, there have been fewer attacks on Beirut and the southern suburbs, but there’s nothing that was announced with respect to a ceasefire.

    Now, the Iranians here are stuck between a rock and a hard place: On the one hand, they cannot sacrifice their deterrence in the region and their relationship with the Lebanese group, Hezbollah, especially since this is a credibility issue.

    On the other hand, they cannot disrupt a ceasefire because of an external factor, so this issue is creating a lot of pressure.

‘Serious disagreement’ over Strait of Hormuz: Iranian media

    Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency has confirmed that the US and Iran are exchanging texts in an effort “to reach a common framework for the negotiations”.

    Citing its correspondent in Pakistan’s capital, Tasnim said progress has been hindered by “usual excessive demands” from Washington, however.

    The news agency also said the consultations are ongoing, but that “the issue of the Strait of Hormuz is one of the issues facing serious disagreement”.

A recap of the latest developments

    The first phase of historic, in-person talks between US and Iranian delegations has ended, and the two sides are now exchanging written messages, sources close to the mediation tell Al Jazeera.

    The US military claims two of its ships have transited the Strait of Hormuz on a mine-clearing mission, appearing to contradict an earlier Iranian media report that no US vessels had crossed the waterway.

    Israeli military attacks have continued in southern Lebanon, including strikes that killed at least five people and injured a paramedic, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.

    Israel’s PM Netanyahu says Israel, under his leadership, will keep fighting Iran and its allies.

•     Pope Leo has delivered impassioned remarks against the war in Iran, saying, “Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!”

Netanyahu says Israel will continue to fight Iran

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed Israel will continue fighting Iran and its allies, in a post that also criticised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

    “Israel under my leadership will continue to fight Iran’s terror regime and its proxies,” Netanyahu wrote in a post on X. He went on to accuse Erdogan of “accommodating” Iran and being responsible for “massacres” of Kurdish citizens.

    The post by Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Gaza, comes despite a ceasefire in Iran and ongoing US-Iran negotiations.

Pope Leo says ‘Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!’

    Pope Leo XIV has issued his strongest words yet on the US-Israel war on Iran, condemning the “delusion of omnipotence” he says is spurring the conflict.

    “Enough of the idolatry of self and money!” Leo, the first US-born pope, said over an evening prayer service in Saint Peter’s Basilica. “Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!”