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Iran says US failed to win its trust in Islamabad talks
FM spox: There are conflicting views on 2-3 key points
Iran and the United States ended Pakistan-brokered negotiations on Sunday without an agreement with the Iranian chief negotiator saying that Washington failed to win Tehran’s trust during the Islamabad talks.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf in a post on X after the negotiations said that before the talks, he had emphasized that Iran has the necessary good-faith and will, but the country has no trust in the opposite side due to the experience of the two US-Israeli-imposed wars.
“My colleagues raised forward-looking initiatives, but the opposite side ultimately failed to win the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations,” he added.
"The US has realized our logic and principles, and now it has time to decide whether it can gain our trust or not?” Qalibaf said.
The top legislator also noted that Iran pursues powerful diplomacy, alongside military force, for upholding the rights of the Iranian people.
Tehran, he emphasized, will spare no effort to consolidate the achievements of Iran's 40-day national defense.
The talks followed a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire agreement which temporarily ended an unprovoked aggression by the US and the Israeli regime against Iran, which began on February 28. The 14-day ceasefire expires on April 22.
Strikes by the US and Israel have targeted Iran’s military sites, medical centers, schools, universities and many other civilian structures.
The aggression has claimed the lives of more than 3,700 people in Iran and inflicted severe damage to the country’s infrastructure. Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei as well as many military officials have been martyred in the attacks.
During the war, Iranian armed forces also unleashed 100 waves of successful retaliatory strikes against sensitive and strategic American and Israeli targets throughout the region.
Closure of Strait of Hormuz
They also blocked the Strait of Hormuz to oil and gas tankers affiliated with the adversaries and those cooperating with them in an attempt to maintain security at the strategic waterway.
Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz has largely cut off the Persian Gulf and its oil and gas exports from the global economy, sending energy prices soaring.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the US Navy would immediately start blockading the Strait of Hormuz and would also interdict every vessel in international waters that had paid a toll to Iran.
The US president further said in his Truth Social post that Washington remains “locked and loaded” and its military will “finish up” Iran at the “appropriate moment”.
Matters of difference
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, who accompanied the Iranian delegation in Islamabad, said the two sides reached a consensus on some issues, but they held different views regarding 2-3 important matters.
“Finally, the talks did not reach an agreement,” he noted.
The discussions took place following the 40-day imposed war on Iran in an atmosphere of distrust and suspicion, he emphasized, adding, “Therefore, it was not expected that the talks would reach a consensus.”
Baqaei added that the talks covered some new issues with their own complexities, such as the Strait of Hormuz.
The US top negotiator, Vice President JD Vance, in a very short news conference, said Iranians had failed to agree to the US terms. And he added, “We leave here with a very simple proposal – a method of understanding. This is our final and best proposal. We will see if the Iranians will accept it.”
“We need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon,” Vance said after the 21-hour-long talks.
Halting Iran's nuclear capabilities had been a "core goal" that wasn't reached.
Iran has long denied seeking nuclear weapons but has insisted on its right to a civilian nuclear program. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said his country will try to facilitate a new dialogue between Iran and the US in the coming days.
“It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to cease fire,” Dar said.