US and Iran Fail to Reach Agreement in Islamabad. Vance Leaves Pakistan

Photo: AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin, Pool

“We had a series of meaningful discussions with the Iranians, which is good news. The bad news is that we did not reach an agreement, and I think that's much worse news for Iran than for the United States of America,” Vance said.

“We simply couldn't get to a situation where the Iranians would accept our terms,” Vance said before departing.

Donald Trump's Stance

US President Donald Trump told reporters that he was not concerned about the outcome of the meeting. According to him, Washington had already emerged victorious from this war.

“It doesn't matter to me whether we make a deal or not. The fact is, we won,” Trump stated.

He claimed that the US had completely defeated the Iranian Air Force, Navy, and the country's leadership.

Trump also announced the start of a US Navy demining operation in the Strait of Hormuz, complaining that "NATO did not help."

Course of Negotiations and Disputed Issues

The negotiations took place in a trilateral format with Pakistan's participation.

The Iranian delegation was led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and the American delegation by Vice President J.D. Vance, special envoy Steve Whitcoff, and Jared Kushner.

The negotiations began amidst media reports of Washington's agreement to unblock frozen Iranian assets, as well as Donald Trump's announcement of the start of a demining operation in the Strait of Hormuz, writes BBC.

The main deadlock is the Strait of Hormuz. According to the Financial Times, Iran insists on maintaining full control over the strait and levying fees on ships, while the US demands free passage and demining.

During the negotiations, Iranian media reported that the US was allegedly putting forward "excessive demands" regarding the Strait of Hormuz and "unacceptable demands on a number of other issues."

Nuclear issue. For Washington, the key demand remains Tehran's complete abandonment of its nuclear ambitions.

Frozen assets. There were conflicting reports on whether the US had agreed to unblock Iranian funds in Qatari banks. There is no official confirmation of this.

Iran's Foreign Ministry reported that the parties reached an understanding on a number of points, but disagreed on several key topics.

They named the atmosphere of mutual distrust as the main obstacle. At the same time, the Iranian side noted that no one expected an immediate outcome from a single session, and therefore the dialogue would continue.

Situation in Lebanon

Iran links the issue of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz to Israeli strikes on Lebanon. Tehran demands a halt to attacks on Beirut as a condition for a ceasefire. In turn, Israel has struck 200 Hezbollah targets in the last 24 hours and is preparing for direct talks with the Lebanese government in Washington next week.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar urged both sides to continue observing the ceasefire, despite the absence of a final document. According to him, Pakistan will continue to facilitate dialogue in the coming days.

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