Islamabad Negotiations Enter a Critical Phase—U.S. and Iran Shift from Political Consultations to Expert-Level Technical Game

As of April 12, the U.S.-Iran negotiations in Islamabad, Pakistan, have entered their second day. According to CCTV News, the Iranian and American delegations have concluded a round of talks, and a new round may be held on the 12th. Currently, expert teams from both sides are exchanging draft texts of the negotiations. A Pakistani Foreign Ministry source confirmed that relevant agencies are making necessary arrangements for the upcoming negotiations. This indicates that the highly watched negotiations have progressed from initial diplomatic and political consultations to a more substantive stage of technical detail bargaining.
1. Negotiation Agenda: From Face-to-Face to Expert Consultations
According to Iranian sources, the first round of talks held on April 11 at Serena Hotel in Islamabad involved separate negotiations between the Pakistani side and each delegation, followed by a tripartite “face-to-face” negotiation. This is the highest-level face-to-face meeting between the U.S. and Iran since 1979. After the first round, both sides immediately moved into expert-level technical consultations, exchanging draft texts. According to publicly available process information, members of professional committees in Iran’s delegation, including those from economic and legal sectors, have joined the negotiations.
Iranian Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian stated on the 10th that the negotiations in Pakistan are “progressing smoothly,” but if no agreement is reached, Iran may withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Before the negotiations began, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a written statement with “three points”: aggressors must compensate for damages; management of the Strait of Hormuz will enter a new phase; Iran will never relinquish its legitimate rights and considers all regional “resistance fronts” as a whole.
2. U.S. Position: Nuclear Weapons Issue Dominates “99%”
U.S. negotiator Donald Trump set a clear tone. Trump explicitly stated that if Iran agrees to abandon nuclear weapons development, it would mark the success of these peace talks—“I will not allow Iran to have nuclear weapons, which accounts for 99% of the agreement’s content.” Trump also said he was “not sure” about the specific progress of the U.S.-Iran talks on that day but confirmed that negotiations had begun. When asked whether Iran was negotiating in good faith, he replied, “I will tell you very soon, not too long.”
Trump also issued a threat, stating that if negotiations fail, the U.S. is prepared to “restart” military actions. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal on the 10th, as negotiations began, the U.S. military continued deploying fighters and troops to the Middle East, with multiple fighter jets and attack aircraft arriving. An estimated