ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – A high-level US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance arrived in Islamabad on Saturday as preparations are underway for talks with Iranian authorities on a possible agreement to end the war, with Iranian media saying the meeting is scheduled for the afternoon.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry reported Vance’s arrival, along with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, ahead of talks with Tehran, the ministry said in a statement.

Welcoming the US delegation, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar commended Washington’s commitment to “achieving lasting regional and global peace and stability” and expressed hope that Tehran and Washington would “engage constructively” toward a “lasting and durable solution to the conflict,” the statement said.

The Iranian negotiation delegation, which is led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and also includes Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, also arrived in the Pakistani capital in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Iranian media reported Saturday that US-Iran talks are expected to take place in the afternoon local time, with the delegations set to meet Pakistani mediators separately before possible joint talks, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-affiliated Tasnim News Agency reported.

Tehran has said it will only join talks if it is based on the country’s 10-point plan, while Washington has warned of continued military action if a ceasefire is not reached.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump said, “We’re going to find out in about 24 hours,” referring to the possibility of a more enduring ceasefire.

The reaching of a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran has led to a lull in attacks in the region, with the Iran-aligned Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Shiite militias, on Wednesday saying that it too will refrain from offensive action during the period.

Although tensions have risen over Lebanon’s inclusion in the US-Iran ceasefire agreement, officials remain divided on whether Beirut is part of the deal, with Washington saying Lebanon is excluded while Tehran insists it is included.

The Iranian army’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters on Friday warned if Israeli attacks on Hezbollah continue in Lebanon, it will “respond with a crushing and painful reply.”

Since the US-Israel war with Iran started in late February, many top Iranian leaders and officials have been killed, including the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Larijani, and the commander of the Basij unit of the IRGC Gholamreza Soleimani.

There are also unconfirmed reports that the newly appointed Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has suffered injuries in an airstrike.