US ‘unable’ to gain Tehran’s trust in Islamabad Talks, says Iran’s parliament speaker | US vice president says any shortcomings in talks not due to Pakistan, which had “done an amazing job” in facilitating dialogue
Islamabad
Iran and the United States failed to strike a deal Sunday to end the war in the Middle East, but there was no immediate return to hostilities, and world leaders quickly urged both sides to pursue the diplomatic route to peace.
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Sunday said the US failed to earn Iran’s trust despite its goodwill and forward-looking initiatives during the latest round of talks in Islamabad.
The US and Iran failed to reach an agreement to end their war despite marathon talks that concluded on Sunday in Islamabad, jeopardising a fragile ceasefire. Each side blamed the other for the failure of the 21-hour negotiations to end fighting that has killed thousands and sent global oil prices soaring since it began over six weeks ago.
“Before the negotiations, I emphasised that we have the necessary good faith and will, but due to the experiences of the two previous wars, we have no trust in the opposing side. My colleagues on the Iranian delegation, Minaab168, raised forward-looking initiatives, but the opposing side ultimately failed to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations,” he said in a post on X
“America has understood our logic and principles, and now it’s time for it to decide whether it can earn our trust or not,” he said.
Ghalibaf said Iran considered all forms of diplomacy alongside military struggle as tools to uphold the nation’s rights, and “we will not for a moment cease our efforts to consolidate the achievements of the forty days of Iran’s national defence.”
Meanwhile, United States Vice President JD Vance said on Sunday that intensive 21-hour discussions with Iran did not reach an agreement. He also appreciated Pakistan’s efforts for a deal. The US and Iranian delegations have left Islamabad to return home.
“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,” Vance, the head of the US delegation, told reporters shortly before he left Islamabad.
“We have made very clear what our red lines are, what things we are willing to accommodate them on and what things we are not willing to accommodate them on,” said Vance, adding that the Iranian delegation had “chosen not to accept our terms”.
He appreciated Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, saying, “Both incredible hosts, and whatever shortcomings of the negotiation, it wasn’t because of the Pakistanis who did an amazing job and really tried to help us and the Iranians bridge the gap and get to a deal.”
