ISLAMABAD — Multilateral negotiations aimed at de-escalating the month-old war between Iran and a U.S.-Israeli coalition entered a second day Sunday with mediators reporting only limited progress, as Iranian envoys pressed for an immediate halt to Israeli airstrikes and the United States attended in an observer capacity rather than as a direct negotiator.

The Turkey-facilitated talks, hosted at Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs complex in the federal capital, opened Saturday after Ankara announced last week that it had secured the participation of Saudi Arabia and Egypt as additional mediators. The session marks the first formal multilateral effort to broker a pause in hostilities since the conflict expanded to include direct Iranian strikes on Gulf state targets and a Houthi ballistic missile launch toward southern Israel.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who delivered brief remarks to reporters outside the meeting hall shortly before noon local time, characterized the atmosphere as “serious and constructive” but declined to point to concrete agreements. “We are at the very beginning of a long process,” Dar said. “There is a willingness in the room that did not exist a week ago, and that itself is meaningful. But I will not pretend that the difficult questions have been resolved.”

Asked whether a ceasefire framework was on the table, Dar said only that “all options consistent with regional stability are being discussed.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who has shuttled between delegations since arriving in Islamabad on Friday night, told a small group of reporters that mediators were attempting to bridge what he described as “fundamental gaps” between Tehran and Washington over preconditions for any pause in fighting. Fidan said the Saudi and Egyptian delegations had circulated a draft document outlining a phased ceasefire, beginning with a 72-hour suspension of strikes and reciprocal pullbacks of forward-deployed assets, though he acknowledged the text had not been accepted by either side.

The Iranian delegation, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi, is reported to be insisting that any cessation of hostilities be predicated on an immediate halt to Israeli strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities and steel manufacturing sites, several of which were targeted over the past 10 days. Two officials briefed on the discussions, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to characterize the proceedings publicly, said the Iranian side had also raised the question of compensation for damaged civilian infrastructure and the release of detained Iranian nationals abroad.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who remained in Tehran, said in a statement carried by state media Sunday morning that Iran would “not negotiate under bombardment” and warned that further Israeli strikes would carry “a heavy price.” The statement reiterated language Araghchi used Saturday following an Israeli operation against Iranian steel factories near Isfahan.

The United States is being represented at the talks by a small interagency team that includes a senior official from the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and a deputy from the National Security Council, according to a senior administration official who confirmed the delegation’s composition. The official said President Donald Trump had authorized the team to “listen, take notes, and report back” but had not granted authority to enter into binding commitments.

“The president believes diplomacy can play a role, but he is not prepared to negotiate the terms of a ceasefire through intermediaries at this stage,” the official said. “We are watching carefully, and we are coordinating closely with the Israeli government.”

Israel is not represented at the Islamabad talks. An Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson, reached by phone in Jerusalem, said Israel had been “briefed by partners” on the substance of the discussions but reiterated that Jerusalem would not accept any framework that left Iran’s nuclear program intact.

Russia, despite its longstanding ties to Tehran, is also absent from the negotiations in any public role. A Russian foreign ministry spokesperson said Moscow welcomed “any sincere effort” toward de-escalation but offered no indication that Russian envoys would be dispatched to Islamabad. Diplomats familiar with the planning said Turkish officials had deliberately structured the initial sessions around a smaller group of regional actors in order to avoid the procedural disputes that have stalled prior efforts at the United Nations.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, speaking briefly to reporters at his hotel, said Riyadh’s priority was “protecting the Gulf from a wider war” and warned that the recent Iranian missile strike on a Saudi airbase, which wounded more than a dozen U.S. service members, had brought the region “to the edge of something none of us can control.”

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, in remarks to Egyptian state television Sunday, said Cairo was urging both sides to accept “an immediate humanitarian pause” while substantive negotiations continued in parallel. Abdelatty said the Egyptian delegation had also raised concerns about the disruption to commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which has driven Brent crude prices above $119 per barrel and rattled global equity markets.

Sources familiar with the discussions said the next steps under consideration include a possible referral of the framework to the United Nations Security Council, where Turkey and Pakistan would jointly seek an endorsement of the phased approach. Such a move, the sources said, would require buy-in from at least one of the permanent members beyond the United States, raising the prospect of Chinese or Russian involvement in a later stage.

The Islamabad session is scheduled to continue through Monday, with a closing news conference tentatively planned for late afternoon. Fidan said he expected “narrow but real” announcements by the end of the talks but cautioned against expectations of a comprehensive agreement.

“This is the start of a road,” Fidan said. “Not the end of one.”