Iran Says Collapsed Islamabad Talks 'a Process,' 'Not an Event'
"The Islamabad Talks is not an event but a process," Ambassador Reza Amiri Moghadam wrote in a statement posted to X, the US social media platform, adding that the discussions "can create a sustainable framework for the interests of all parties."
The talks were hosted by Pakistan following Islamabad's brokering of a 14-day ceasefire between Washington and Tehran on April 8 — a pause in a conflict ignited on February 28 when the US and Israel launched coordinated airstrikes on Iran. US Vice President JD Vance and his delegation met with an Iranian team led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf in what marked the most senior direct engagement between the two nations since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Marathon negotiations that began Saturday and stretched through the night into Sunday morning ultimately fell short. According to US media reports, Vance's team presented several non-negotiable red lines, demanding Iran end all uranium enrichment, dismantle key nuclear facilities, surrender its enriched uranium stockpile, cease funding proxy forces, and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Before departing Islamabad, Vance addressed reporters and acknowledged the impasse bluntly. "Unfortunately, we were unable to make any headway," he said, adding that Washington had sought a firm commitment from Tehran that it would not pursue a nuclear weapon.
Qalibaf, for his part, suggested the next move belonged to Washington, saying it was now time for the US to decide whether it could earn Tehran's trust.
Iranian-American political scientist Vali Nasr offered a measured diagnosis of why the talks stalled, writing on X that the two sides "did not get to a deal over the issue of trust."
"Iran wants to make sure a deal will be implemented and the US will not walk away from it after Iran hands over its enriched uranium and opens the Strait," Nasr wrote. Washington "wants both right away. Iran wants first war to be definitively over and guarantees around the deal. The two sides will reassess back in their capitals and there could be another bite at the apple," he added.
Ambassador Moghadam closed his statement by thanking Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir for their "goodwill and good office" in facilitating the summit, praising the "tireless efforts" of Pakistan's government, military, police and security services for maintaining what he described as a dignified, secure, and logistically balanced environment for both delegations.
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