Iran's president heads to Pakistan as U.S.-Iran teams work on war-ending deal

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. Middle East Iran's president heads to Pakistan as U. -Iran teams work on war-ending deal June 23, 20265:29 AM ET By The Associated Press A man walks past a welcoming billboard featuring Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, center, with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, right, and Shehbaz Sharif along a roadside in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. Anjum Naveed/AP hide caption toggle caption Anjum Naveed/AP ISLAMABAD — Iran's president was traveling to Pakistan on Tuesday for talks with officials who have been mediating negotiations between Tehran and Washington on a permanent end to the war in the Middle East even as discrepancies were emerging on what had been agreed so far.

Middle East conflict The U. and Iran agree to a 'road map' for a final deal, mediators say President Masoud 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, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf. In Tehran, Iran's capital, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters that no visits have been scheduled for the U.

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watchdog — the International Atomic Energy Agency — to see Iranian nuclear sites bombed by the United States last year. Vance had previously said the negotiations in Switzerland won an agreement for IAEA to inspect the sites. Sponsor Message The IAEA has been in and out of Iran since Israel's 12-day war against Iran in 2025, but has not been granted access to the bombed enrichment sites targeted by the U.

Iran's president makes his first visit to Islamabad since war started 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 U. and Israeli attack on Iran on Feb.

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. agreed to create a "de-confliction cell" to address the fighting in Lebanon between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia group.

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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. " Sponsor Message "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.

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