\n<\/p>\n
High-stakes talks between the United States and Iran have ended without a deal, and Iran\u2019s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has blamed the US for the failure of talks held in Islamabad, Pakistan, during a two-week ceasefire in their war.<\/p>\n
Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran\u2019s parliament, said on Sunday that \u2060his delegation raised \u201cforward-looking\u201d initiatives \u2060during the talks on Saturday but the US failed to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation.<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n US Vice President JD Vance, who led the US delegation, said earlier that the talks ended without a deal. \u201cThe bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that\u2019s bad news for Iran much more than it\u2019s bad news for the United States of America,\u201d he said six weeks into the US-Israeli war on Iran.<\/p>\n The talks \u2013 the first direct engagement between the two countries at this level since the 1979 Iranian Revolution \u2013 exposed deep divisions on core issues, including Iran\u2019s nuclear programme and the Strait of Hormuz, which in effect has been under Tehran\u2019s control since the war began on February 28.<\/p>\n The de facto blockade of the waterway, through which one-fifth of global crude oil supplies pass, has caused a global energy crisis and rattled stock markets globally.<\/p>\n Al Jazeera\u2019s Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said the talks mediated by Pakistan, which went on for more than 21 hours, were \u201cneither a breakthrough nor a breakdown\u201d.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a look at what each side said and what the key sticking points between Tehran and Washington are:<\/p>\n The US framed the lack of a breakthrough primarily around Iran\u2019s alleged refusal to meet its core demand: a firm commitment not to develop nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n \u201cWe 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,\u201d Vance told reporters at a news conference.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is the core goal of the president of the United States, and that\u2019s what we\u2019ve tried to achieve through these negotiations.\u201d<\/p>\n Vance said Washington had made its \u201cred lines\u201d clear and presented what he described as a \u201cfinal and best offer\u201d.<\/p>\n The vice president did not mention reopening the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n During the negotiations, US President Donald Trump seemed to insert himself in the talks, saying a deal was not entirely necessary.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re negotiating. Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me because we\u2019ve won,\u201d he told reporters in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n However, the fact that Trump sent Vance to Islamabad showed the US was taking these talks seriously, Al Jazeera\u2019s John Hendren said, reporting from Washington, DC.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that Vance left [Islamabad] doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that the talks are over,\u201d he said, adding that the main sticking points seem to be the Strait of Hormuz and the gaps on Iran\u2019s nuclear programme.<\/p>\n \u201cThe US has been negotiating with Iran over time. Those talks can continue remotely, and leaving those talks may simply be a hard stance,\u201d the Al Jazeera correspondent added.<\/p>\n Iran downplayed expectations and blamed the US for making what it called unreasonable demands.<\/p>\n \u201cThe success of this diplomatic process depends on the seriousness and good faith of the opposing side, refraining from excessive demands and unlawful requests, and the acceptance of Iran\u2019s legitimate rights and interests,\u201d Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei wrote on X.<\/p>\n He added that the two sides discussed a range of issues, including the \u201cStrait of Hormuz, the nuclear issue, war reparations, the lifting of sanctions, and the complete end of the war against Iran\u201d.<\/p>\n Baghaei emphasised that the lack of a deal should not be seen as a failure of the broader process, saying, \u201cNo one had such an expectation.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the IRNA news agency, when asked whether diplomacy had ended, Baghaei said, \u201cDiplomacy never ends.\u201d<\/p>\n Ghalibaf posted on X: \u201cThe US has come to understand Iran\u2019s logic and principles, and now it must decide whether it is capable of gaining our trust.\u201d<\/p>\n Mohsen Farkhani from the University of Isfahan said Tehran entered the talks not for a breakthrough but to show the world that Washington was not serious.<\/p>\n \u201cIran was in these negotiations with a kind of totally realistic view and with distrust \u2026 to prove to the world that, for the third time, the US doesn\u2019t have enough seriousness to solve the problems or the challenges in peace and negotiations,\u201d he told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n Pakistan called for the ceasefire to continue while keeping diplomacy alive.<\/p>\n Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar stressed that it is \u201cimperative\u201d for both sides to uphold their commitment to the ceasefire, warning implicitly of the risks of renewed conflict if it collapses.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hope that the two sides will continue with the positive spirit to achieve durable peace and prosperity for the entire region and beyond,\u201d Dar said.<\/p>\n Pakistan will continue to \u201cplay its role to facilitate engagement and dialogue between\u201d Iran and the US \u201cin the days to come\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n This remains the central dispute between Tehran and Washington.<\/p>\n The US wants a clear and enforceable commitment that Iran will not develop nuclear weapons \u2013 or even the capability to do so quickly.<\/p>\n Iran has consistently rejected accusations that it seeks to build nuclear weapons but said it is willing to negotiate limits on its nuclear activities if sanctions are removed.<\/p>\n Iran said its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes and it has no intention of making a nuclear weapon. Washington and Tehran signed a nuclear deal in 2015 under US President Barack Obama. The agreement put a limit on Iran\u2019s uranium enrichment of 3.67 percent in return for sanctions relief. But Trump, who succeeded Obama, withdrew Washington from the deal three years later and slapped sanctions back on Iran. Since then, Iran has accelerated its uranium enrichment to 60 percent. To make an atomic bomb, 90 percent enrichment is required.<\/p>\n Trump has publicly called for enriched uranium to be removed from Iran. During Israel\u2019s 12-day war on Iran in June, the US carried out air strikes on Iran\u2019s three main nuclear sites, after which Trump claimed that Iran\u2019s nuclear programme had been obliterated. But eight months later, he started a war against Iran by saying one of his main goals was to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.<\/p>\n The war was launched while talks mediated by Oman were under way between Iran and the US. Oman had said a short time before the attacks began that a deal was \u201cwithin reach\u201d.<\/p>\n Who gets to control this strategic waterway, through which almost all of the oil and natural gas exports from the Gulf nations pass, has become a major flashpoint.<\/p>\n Iran has floated the idea of charging transit fees to allow ships to pass through the strait. Meanwhile, the US is adamant the strait is reopened free of any tolls.<\/p>\n The near shutdown of shipping through the strait has sent global energy prices soaring with many countries, especially in Asia, forced to implement unprecedented austerity measures to soften the impact of fuel shortages.<\/p>\n Experts said the near-closure of the strait has caused the worst economic shock since the 1973 oil embargo.\u00a0 That embargo removed 4.5 million barrels per day from the global supply. Today\u2019s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has blocked 20 million.<\/p>\n Iran is pushing for a broader regional ceasefire, including an end to fighting involving its allies, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon.<\/p>\n While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed support for Washington\u2019s decision to suspend the strikes on Iran, he said the ceasefire will not extend to Israel\u2019s ongoing military operations in Lebanon.<\/p>\n Hours into the ceasefire, which began on Wednesday, Israel carried out dozens of attacks across Lebanon, killing more than 300 people in one day.<\/p>\n However, Tehran insisted the ceasefire included Lebanon, citing Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif\u2019s ceasefire announcement on X, which unequivocally stated this was the case.<\/p>\n Trump has backed Netanyahu\u2019s comments, calling it \u201ca separate skirmish\u201d. Vance this week warned Iran that it would be \u201cfoolish\u201d to jeopardise its ceasefire with Washington over Israel\u2019s attacks in Lebanon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n High-stakes talks between the United States and Iran have ended without a deal, and Iran\u2019s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has blamed the US for the failure of talks held in Islamabad, Pakistan, during a two-week ceasefire in their war. Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran\u2019s parliament, said on Sunday that \u2060his delegation raised \u201cforward-looking\u201d initiatives […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18645,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n
What did the US say?<\/h2>\n
What did Iran say?<\/h2>\n
What did Pakistan say?<\/h2>\n
What are the main sticking points?<\/h2>\n
Iran\u2019s nuclear programme<\/h3>\n
Strait of Hormuz<\/h3>\n
Extending the ceasefire to Lebanon<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"