World anxiously waits to see if US-Iran peace talks can deliver. Here’s what we know | CNN

The lives of millions of people across the Middle East – and the fate of the global economy – will hinge on the outcome of make-or-break talks between the United States and Iran, which began this weekend in Pakistan. The two sides are talking directly to each other, Iranian sources told CNN, making these the highest-level face-to-face negotiations between Iran and the US since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979. A fragile two-week ceasefire that paved the way for the talks is holding for now. But Israel’s massive and deadly bombardment of Lebanon and disagreements over whether Lebanon is included in the truce could derail the uneasy calm. The key question now is whether the talks will produce some sort of middle ground – or whether they will collapse and restart a war that has already wrought destruction across parts of the Middle East and sparked a historic global oil crisis. Trilateral talks between the US and Iran, with Pakistan serving as mediator, began Saturday, a senior White House official said. The US delegation is led by Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son in law. Prior to his departure