▲ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press conference at the White House in Washington on April 8, 2026, in this photo released by the Associated Press. (Yonhap)

(2nd LD) US-Iran-negotiations

(2nd LD) U.S., Iran to hold 1st round of talks on peace deal in Pakistan on Saturday: White House

(ATTN: RECASTS para 3; ADDS more info in paras 10-14)

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, April 8 (Yonhap) -- The United States and Iran will have the first round of their negotiations in Pakistan this weekend to end their war, the White House said Wednesday, a day after they agreed to a two-week ceasefire.

During a press briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the two sides will meet in Islamabad on Saturday morning (local time), as uncertainty lingers over whether they could bridge their differences to reach a peace deal.

The U.S. negotiating team will be led by Vice President JD Vance; Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy to the Middle East; and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, she said.

"The first round of those talks will take place Saturday morning (local time), and we know we look forward to those in person," she added.

Asked if Iran has given an indication that it will turn over its enriched uranium, Leavitt said, "They have, yes."

The U.S. has been concerned about Iran's uranium storage as it could be used to make nuclear bombs.

"This is on the top of the priority list for the president and his negotiating team as they head into these next rounds of discussions," she said. "That is a red line that the president is not going to back away from."

She stressed that Trump is "committed to ensuring that (this) takes place."

"We hope it will be through diplomacy," she said.

Her remarks came after Trump wrote on social media earlier in the day that "there will be no enrichment of uranium," and that in cooperation with Iran, the U.S. will "dig up and remove all of the deeply buried nuclear dust."

Ahead of the negotiations this weekend, Iran presented a 10-point proposal, which Trump cast as a "workable basis on which to negotiate" a deal.

The proposal contains a series of demands that might emerge as sticking points when the negotiations proceed.

The demands include Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz, the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from the Middle East, the acceptance of Iran's nuclear enrichment right, reparations for war damages and the lifting of all primary and secondary sanctions against Tehran, to name a few, according to reports.

Those demands are seen as clashing with a U.S. 15-point plan that involves the Trump administration's demands on Iran's nuclear and ballistic missiles, among other issues.

Meanwhile, Trump said that his administration is thinking of a joint venture with Iran to set up tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, calling it "a way of securing it" and a "beautiful thing," according to a social media post by ABC News' Jonathan Karl.

(END)

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]