Three-party talks with the U.S., Iran, and Pakistan started Saturday in Islamabad, days after a fragile, two-week ceasefire was announced.

The White House issued a statement early Saturday afternoon, saying that the talks are ongoing after a previous report by the Financial Times said that the negotiations had reached a stalemate over the Strait of Hormuz.

The White House confirmed that the talks that US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf are leading mark a rare instance of high-level engagement between American leadership and the Iranian government.

Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the highest-level direct contact had been when President Barack Obama, a Democrat, in September 2013, called newly elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to discuss Iran’s nuclear program. The most recent highest-level meetings were between Secretary of State John Kerry and counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif during negotiations over the program.

Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz and its insistence that any agreement include Lebanon are the main obstacles in the negotiations.

Reuters reported that Iran is demanding control of the strait, release of assets abroad, payment of war reparations, and a ceasefire across the region, including Lebanon.

Reflecting the high stakes, officials from the region said Chinese, Egyptian, Saudi and Qatari officials were in Islamabad to indirectly facilitate talks. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem & AP)

(YWN’s Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis ha’Shabbos in Israel)