Above photo: AA.
As Washington Insists On ‘Excessive Demands’.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the talks were held in an ‘atmosphere of mistrust’.
Pakistani-mediated negotiations between the US and Iran, and between Islamabad and Tehran, came to an end on 12 April, with both delegations departing and no agreement reached due to what Tehran said were “excessive demands” from Washington.
It was decided on Saturday evening that the talks would extend into the following morning. Following 21 hours of talks, both delegations departed the Pakistani capital on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei pointed to an “atmosphere of mistrust” after weeks of war, saying no agreement was expected in a single round and that major differences remain on at least two to three key issues.
“Iran repeatedly presented new initiatives and tried to invite the US side to be realistic. The US’s excessive demands prevented the achievement of a common framework at each round,” Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported.
US Vice President JD Vance said 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.”
“We were negotiating in good faith,” he claimed. “And we leave here, and we leave here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding that is our final and best offer. We’ll see if the Iranians accept it.”
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar urged both the US and Iran to uphold the two-week ceasefire and continue negotiations in good faith after talks, stressing that his country will keep facilitating dialogue.
According to the New York Times (NYT), Tehran refuses to open the Strait of Hormuz until a final agreement is reached, after Washington demanded it be opened immediately.
Iran is pushing for a mechanism that would allow it to control the Strait and collect transit fees from vessels. It also wants financial reparations, a region-wide ceasefire including in Lebanon, and the closure of US military bases in the region, according to the 10-point plan which Washington accepted then backtracked on shortly after.
“We’re negotiating, whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me, because we’ve won,” US President Donald Trump told reporters on Saturday as talks were happening in Islamabad.
