Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf arrives in Islamabad for ceasefire talks with the American side. Photo: PressTV.
A high-ranking Iranian delegation has arrived in the Pakistani capital Islamabad for talks with US representatives, as Tehran warns that any failure to meet its preconditions will derail the process.
Headed by Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Qalibaf, the delegation, which includes security, political, military, economic, and legal committees, arrived in Islamabad on Friday night.
Other Iranian officials on the delegation include Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Secretary of the Supreme National Defense Council Ali-Akbar Ahmadian, Central Bank Governor Abdolnasser Hemmati, as well as several members of parliament.
US Vice President JD Vance, Washington’s regional envoy Steve Witkoff, and President Donald Trump’s advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner have also reached Islamabad.
Trump announced a two-week lull in US attacks on Iran on Tuesday, 40 days after the country joined the Israeli regime in the duo’s latest bout of unprovoked aggression towards Iran.
The announcement came after Iran’s Armed Forces unleashed at least 99 waves of determined and successful retaliatory strikes against sensitive and strategic American and Israeli targets throughout the region.
Earlier on Friday, Qalibaf said a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of Iran’s blocked assets were the prerequisites to be met before the commencement of negotiations with the United States.
A 10-point proposal forwarded by Iran, which Trump has referred to as a “workable basis on which to negotiate and the main framework for these talks,” explicitly conditions a ceasefire on the cessation of aggression on all fronts, including against Lebanon.
Since Trump’s announcement, however, the Israeli regime has markedly escalated its attacks on Lebanon, claiming the lives of hundreds of people, including women and children.
IRGC: Iranian Forces Launched No Attacks During Ceasefire Hours
‘Iran has good will, but distrusts US’
Upon deplaning, Qalibaf reminded Iran’s past experience of invariable American betrayal, including twice during diplomatic procedures.
“Twice within less than a year, in the middle of negotiations, and despite the Iranian side’s good faith, they attacked us and committed numerous war crimes,” he said.
Both the latest aggression and the previous imposed American-Israeli war on the Islamic Republic in June took place after Washington had begun engaging in diplomatic processes with Tehran.
“We have goodwill, but we do not have trust [in the opposite party],” the top legislator added.
He noted that the American side would only witness readiness on the part of the Islamic Republic towards arriving at an agreement “if it is ready for a genuine agreement and to grant the rights of the Iranian nation.”
‘US warned against renewed deception’
However, should Washington seek to use negotiation as “futile performance” and a “deception operation,” Tehran is prepared to secure the Iranian nation’s rights by relying on its own capabilities, Qalibaf said.
He cited the country’s successful and determined defensive and retaliatory strikes throughout the latest aggression as proof of its preparedness to resolutely secure its national interests and protect its sovereignty.
(PresTV)
