Components of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (IKECSG), the guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem (DDG 63) and the French Navy frigate FS Languedoc (D 653) pass through the Strait of Hormuz on November 25, 2023. PHOTO: REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:
What was billed as the most consistent talks in decades ended without a breakthrough but also without a breakdown as nearly 24 hours of talks between the US and Iran ended in Islamabad on Sunday, with both sides digging into core demands but leaving the door open for further engagement.
US Vice President JD Vance, who led the US delegation, was the first to emerge after the marathon talks and announced that there was no deal before leaving the capital.
“The bad news is that we haven’t reached an agreement, and I think it’s bad news for Iran much more than it’s bad news for the United States,” Vance told reporters shortly before departing, in what marked the highest level of direct contact between Washington and Tehran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Despite the blunt assessment, Pakistan tried to frame the result as a break rather than a failure. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the talks were “not dead” and described the situation as a “stalemate” while expressing hope that diplomacy would ultimately prevail.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who played a key mediating role with the military leadership, insisted that Islamabad would continue to facilitate dialogue “in the coming days.”
The talks, which began on Saturday afternoon, initially took place indirectly before moving into rare face-to-face engagement. The negotiations stretched deep into the night and Sunday morning and emphasized both the complexity of the problems and the seriousness of the effort.
By the time Vance spoke to reporters at a hotel in Islamabad, the sun had already risen, marking the end of an intense diplomatic push that saw “many messages and texts” exchanged between the two sides. According to officials, the discussions spanned a wide range of contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear program, the future of the Strait of Hormuz, sanctions, war reparations and a broader ceasefire framework following the past six weeks of US-Israel conflict with Iran.
Vance made it clear that Washington’s primary demand remained unchanged: an unequivocal Iranian commitment not to pursue nuclear weapons capability.
“We need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon and they will not seek the tools that will enable them to quickly obtain a nuclear weapon,” he said. He added that Tehran “had not accepted our terms”, signaling that fundamental gaps remain.
Iranian officials, while acknowledging the absence of a deal, struck a more measured tone. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said expectations of a quick agreement were unrealistic given the depth of disputes.
“From the beginning, we should not have expected to reach an agreement in a single session,” he said, stressing that diplomacy would continue.
Baghaei stressed that negotiations were part of a broader strategic effort, describing diplomacy as a continuation of Iran’s struggle to protect its national interests. He also reiterated deep distrust of the United States, citing past “breaches of trust” and recent conflicts.
Iran’s delegation, led by parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, claimed it had presented “forward-looking” proposals, but suggested Washington had yet to demonstrate the necessary will to bridge the gap. “The United States has understood Iran’s logic and principles, and it is time for them to decide whether they can earn our trust or not,” Ghalibaf said in a statement.
For Pakistan, hosting the talks was both a diplomatic game and an opportunity to assert its relevance on the global stage. In a televised statement at the end of the talks, Dar thanked both sides for responding to Islamabad’s call for a ceasefire and accepting negotiations.
He disclosed that he along with Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir facilitated “several rounds of intense and constructive talks” over the past 24 hours.
Dar stressed the importance of maintaining the ceasefire and expressed hope that the “positive spirit” demonstrated in Islamabad would eventually translate into a lasting peace. “Pakistan has been and will continue to play its role in facilitating engagement and dialogue,” he said.
Officials privately acknowledged that even if no agreement was reached, simply bringing the two adversaries to the table and keeping them engaged for nearly a full day was in itself a significant achievement.
With the trust deficit still deep and positions entrenched, the Islamabad talks may not have delivered the “deal of the century” that some had hoped for. Yet they seem to have laid the groundwork for a longer, more incremental process.
Some observers said the outcome so far can best be described as no breakthrough, but no collapse either and just enough momentum to keep hope alive.
