ISLAMABAD — U.S. Vice President JD Vance is set to lead the American delegation in high-level talks with Iran scheduled to begin in Islamabad, Pakistan. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to co-lead Iran's delegation in the negotiations.

Pakistan declared a two-day holiday in its capital ahead of the talks. The venue in Islamabad is ready, with guards in place along the approach road and curbs freshly painted yellow and black. Pakistani government officials said they enjoy the trust of both the United States and Iran as hosts.

The two sides enter the talks with competing proposals on Iran's nuclear program. Iran has said it has never sought to build a nuclear bomb and insists it has the right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran's 10-point proposal demands international recognition of its uranium enrichment rights. A 15-point U.S. plan demands that Iran end all uranium enrichment on Iranian soil.

Vance addressed the diplomatic dynamic in a podcast interview ahead of the meetings. "If the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we're certainly willing to extend the open hand," he said. "If they're going to try to play us, then they're going to find the negotiating team is not that receptive."

Iran has been under international sanctions for decades and is demanding the lifting of all U.S. and international sanctions as part of any deal. Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, speaker of Iran's parliament, said $120 billion of frozen Iranian assets must be released before negotiations begin. Qalibaf said releasing frozen assets and a ceasefire in Lebanon were two previously agreed measures.

Israel is conducting a military campaign against the armed group Hezbollah in Lebanon, which threatens to derail the U.S.-Iran talks. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian responded directly to the military operations. "The continuation of these actions will render negotiations meaningless. Our fingers remain on the trigger. Iran will never abandon its Lebanese sisters and brothers," Pezeshkian said.

Iran's network of regional allies and proxies — including Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, Hamas in Gaza, and various militias in Iraq — has given it regional clout in its disputes with Israel and the U.S. Since October 2023, the network Iran calls the "Axis of Resistance" has been under constant attack.

International negotiators took years to reach the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran's nuclear program. The current talks are the latest attempt to resolve disputes over Iran's nuclear activities that have persisted since that agreement collapsed.