Mike Baker

At least, that's the current plan.

But Tehran's opening demands suggest a deal may still be a long ways off.

Later in the show, British officials expose a covert Russian submarine operation targeting undersea cables and pipelines, raising new concerns about Moscow's hybrid warfare playbook.

But first, today's afternoon spotlight.

For the first time since the war began, U.S.

and Iranian officials are reportedly expected to sit down face-to-face, with talks set to begin as early as tomorrow in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Now, this comes as part of that fragile two week ceasefire window or whatever the word is for a ceasefire that where the firing hasn't actually ceased and key conditions for the ceasefire or whatever it is have yet to be met.

But essentially, it's a lull or a pause in the fighting, perhaps meant to give both sides time to negotiate towards something more permanent.

And according to multiple reports, senior officials are already on their way, with Vice President J.D.

Vance expected to lead the U.S.

delegation.

Now, before those talks even begin, we've already had a pretty clear look at how Tehran plans to approach them.

Iran has put forward what amounts to an opening position, a 10-point plan that, while not agreed to by Washington, offers a window into what they'll be pushing for once negotiators sit down at the table, if in fact they do sit down at the table.

This is the plan that President Trump called a, quote, workable basis on which to negotiate.

Now, others have referred to it as a list of maximalist demands put forward by a regime that is now claiming victory, which is awkward since the U.S.

is also claiming victory.

Maybe in today's world, everybody gets a trophy.

But the key thing to understand here is this.

It's not a deal.

It's a starting point.