Good morning. It is Saturday, April the 11th. I'm Ali Valshi. Vice President J.D. Vance has arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan, for peace talks with negotiators from Iran. He's joined by the dynamic negotiating duo of Steve Whitkoff and Jared Kushner.

Air Force 2 touched down at 1029 a.m. local time. They've already had a bilateral meeting with

Pakistan's prime minister. Iranian state TV is reporting that Iran's negotiators also met with

the Pakistani side who have been moderating the talks. They're also reporting the talks

between the U.S. and Iran have begun. Whether they are direct or indirect talks is still unclear.

This morning's talks are where we've arrived at the end of a dark and chaotic week, which began

with Donald Trump vowing to increase strikes on Iran until the Strait of Hormuz was opened.

Trump's threats took an apocalyptic turn on Tuesday morning when he warned that, quote,

a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen,

but it probably will, end quote. Hours before that deadline, Trump announced that a two-week ceasefire had been agreed to

so that the U.S. and Iran could negotiate a deal. The two nations are approaching these talks from

vastly different perspectives. A 10-point plan released by the Iranians included many demands that the

U.S. will not exceed to, like an acceptance of Iran's right to nuclear enrichment,

the lifting of sanctions against Iran, and the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from all bases

in the region. And Iran is asking for control over the Strait of Hormuz, something it did not have

before the war began. But even outside the actual tenets of any potential agreement, the ceasefire

under which Vance and Witkoff and Kushner are negotiating with the Iranians remains fragile,

a moment away from cracking. Iran's largest issue since the ceasefire was announced has been

America's partner in this war, Israel. While the U.S. has stopped striking Iran since Tuesday night,

Iran has continued and escalated its military campaign in neighboring Lebanon. Over 1,800 people

have been killed. The Lebanese civil defense authorities told MS now 300 were killed on Wednesday

alone. Israel insists it's going after

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