Iran's president in Pakistan as US-Iran teams work on war-ending deal

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - ISLAMABAD — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday for a one-day visit for talks with officials who have been mediating negotiations between Tehran and Washington on the full implementation of all clauses of an agreement signed in Switzerland on Monday.

The Iranian leader landed at Nur Khan airbase, where he was received by President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other high officials, according to state-run PTV.

Pezeshkian's visit to Islamabad comes as technical teams were working on details of the deal, following high-level negotiations in Switzerland on Monday led by US Vice President JD Vance and Iran's parliamentary speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf.

Separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Islamabad from Muscat. He had traveled to Muscat along with Parliament Speaker and Ghalibaf to hold high-level talks with the Omani leadership to discuss the management of the Strait of Hormuz.

Security was tight in the area of Islamabad where the Iranian president was to meet with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. It's Pezeshkian's first visit since the conflict started with the US and Israeli attack on Iran on Feb. 28.

Pezeshkian and Sharif were to hold joint news conference after their discussions.

In the initial talks, marking the start of a 60-day diplomatic process that seeks to reach a permanent deal to end the Iran war, Iran and the U.S. agreed to create a "de-confliction cell" to address the fighting in Lebanon between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia group.

The US said negotiators also discussed "mechanisms" to ensure the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the transit of oil that Iran had effectively blocked during the war, remains open.

Ahead of his meetings in Pakistan, Pezeshkian cautioned that "the effectiveness of the talks depends on full commitment to the agreed obligations and their precise implementation."

"Progress on this path will be measured by practical adherence to accepted responsibilities," he wrote on X. "Statements outside the agreed text do not help advance the negotiations."

Iran suggested the ongoing technical talks in Switzerland have led to the creation of specific negotiation groups, which include those focused on sanctions relief, nuclear issues, reconstruction and monitoring, according to a the state-run IRNA news agency.

The report quoted Kazem Gharibabadi, a deputy foreign minister leading the technical talks, saying that the countries involved also formed a contact mechanism over ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz and over the fighting in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah.

It remains unclear whether the de-confliction cell being created will be enough to stop fighting between the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israel, which occupies part of Lebanon and insists it must maintain a free hand to attack militants launching attacks into northern Israel.

Mediators Pakistan and Qatar said the cell would include the Lebanese government and would "ensure the adherence of the termination of military operations in Lebanon," but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raised new questions late on Monday, saying his military still has "full freedom of action to thwart any direct or emerging threat to them or to the residents of the north."

Neither Israel nor Hezbollah are signatories to the US-Iran deal, and Netanyahu has vowed to keep his forces in southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing.

US President Donald Trump later said "we're going to take a look at it," when asked about Netanyahu's comments, adding that he wouldn't say what action he would take but that the situation would "get solved."

Lebanon and Israel planned another round of direct talks in Washington on Tuesday, which are expected to focus on developing a plan for an Israeli withdrawal.