According to Reuters, after 21 hours of intensive talks between representatives of the United States and the Iranian regime in Pakistan, the negotiations ended without reaching an agreement, and the American delegation left the country. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said in a brief press conference Sunday morning Islamabad time that the talks had been detailed and substantive but ultimately failed to produce a result.
He emphasized that this lack of agreement would have more negative consequences for Iran than for the United States. Referring to Washington’s position, Vance said that “our red lines were completely clear; we made clear where we have flexibility and where we do not.” According to Vance, the Iranian regime refused to accept the terms proposed by the United States, while the American side had entered the negotiations in good faith. He also added that the best and final U.S. offer remains on the table, and it now depends on Iran’s decision whether to accept it.
Iran in A Bottleneck Over Restoring Infrastructure After Ceasefire
Raising the key question of whether Iran is committed in the long term to not developing nuclear weapons, Vance said that “we have not yet seen such a commitment, but we hope to witness it in the future.”
On the other side, Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for the foreign ministry of the Iranian regime, announced that the two sides had reached understandings on some issues, but disagreements over two or three major issues prevented a final agreement.
He added that contacts and consultations would continue through Pakistan. Oil movements coinciding with the negotiations: at the same time as the start of these talks, data from tanker-tracking companies reported the passage of three large oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, the first such case since the ceasefire between the two sides was established.
According to these reports, each of these tankers was carrying about 2 million barrels of oil from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, and flying Liberian and Chinese flags, they entered the waters of the Gulf of Oman after passing the Hormuz transit anchorage route and circling Larak Island. The destination of these shipments was reported to be Malaysia.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that two empty tankers that had intended to enter the Persian Gulf changed course after news of the failed negotiations and returned to the Gulf of Oman.
