Peace negotiations between the US and Iran began on Saturday in the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad, government representatives of Pakistan and the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported, according to LETA citing DPA and AFP.
Mediators from Pakistan are participating in the negotiations, officials added, without specifying whether both sides are in the same room or exchanging messages.
Earlier, both delegations met with the Prime Minister of Pakistan and other high-ranking officials.
The American delegation is led by Vice President James David Vance, while the Iranian delegation is headed by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif, who facilitated bringing the parties to the negotiating table this week, stated that the talks will not be easy.
"A more difficult phase lies ahead," he said, referring to efforts to end hostilities that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, which prompted retaliatory strikes by Iran on Israel and throughout the Persian Gulf region.
"This is the phase that in English is called 'make or break,'" Sharif noted.
Iran, which sent a delegation of more than 70 people to Pakistan, demanded that the ceasefire also extend to Lebanon and that its assets be unblocked as a condition for negotiations in Islamabad; however, none of these demands have been met so far.
From the US side, President Donald Trump demanded the opening of the Strait of Hormuz as a condition for a two-week truce.
However, the strait, through which one-fifth of the world's oil is transported, is not open to normal shipping, and on Friday Trump promised to soon secure its opening "with or without" Iran's cooperation.
He added that his main priority in the negotiations in Islamabad is to ensure that Iran does not have nuclear weapons.
Pakistan has formed a group of specialists to assist both sides in negotiations on navigation, nuclear energy, and other important topics, a diplomatic source familiar with the matter told AFP.
Other key players in the region are closely monitoring the negotiations, with Egypt and Turkey providing mediation assistance, while China, which continues to closely coordinate negotiations with Pakistan, is also involved in the process, the source reported.
Official sources indicated that Beijing is being considered as a potential guarantor of any long-term agreement, and Trump confirmed to AFP that China helped Tehran come to the negotiating table.
It is unclear whether China will be directly represented at the negotiations or is prepared to take on an official role.
The path to a permanent ceasefire is complicated by Israel's statements that the current ceasefire does not extend to Lebanon, which contradicts the positions of Iran and Pakistan.
On Friday, Israeli airstrikes continued in Lebanon against the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, despite Iran's demand to cease them.
