World anxiously waits to see if US-Iran peace talks can deliver.

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.