“The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that’s bad news for Iran much more than it’s bad news for the United States of America.” US Vice President JD Vance said that at a press briefing before flying out of Islamabad, after talks with Iran ended without a deal.
Pakistan hosted the negotiations, the first direct, high-level contact between Washington and Tehran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. They came days after a two-week ceasefire was announced. President Donald Trump had credited Pakistan for the pause in fighting, naming Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his “favourite Field Marshal” Asim Munir as the brokers.
On Sunday Pakistan asked both sides to keep that ceasefire alive. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said he and Munir “helped mediate several rounds of intense and constructive negotiations between the two sides” that lasted nearly 24 hours. “It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to ceasefire,” Dar said. Islamabad, he added, will keep facilitating dialogue, and he hoped the two sides would keep “the positive spirit to achieve durable peace and prosperity for the entire region and beyond.”
Hours of friction
Hopes of a breakthrough faded as the talks ran past 21 hours on sharp differences. “There were mood swings from the two sides and the temperature went up and down during the meeting,” a Pakistani source told Reuters.
Vance said Iran would not accept Washington’s terms on curbing its nuclear programme. He said he stayed in constant touch with Trump throughout and that “we’ve made very clear what our red lines are.”
Iran would not take all the blame. Its semi-official Tasnim news agency said “excessive” conditions set by the US delegation derailed the talks. Other Iranian media reported progress on some points but named the Strait of Hormuz and the nuclear programme as the key sticking points. A foreign ministry spokesperson said the talks took place in an atmosphere of mistrust, and that expecting a result from a single round of face-to-face meetings was a stretch.
India Today noted that with no framework agreement secured, the fate of the ceasefire is in question, and that Pakistan’s ability to deliver a breakthrough is under fresh doubt.
Sources
Sources
- Pakistan urges US and Iran to maintain ceasefire after… – India Today
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