Pakistan expects US-Iran negotiations to pick up again in the near future.
After the US-Iran ceasefire talks hosted on Saturday in Islamabad failed to produce a final agreement, US Vice President JD Vance departed for Washington on Sunday morning along with his delegation.
He was seen off at Nur Khan Air Base by Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, along with Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Before departing for the homeland, Vance held a short press conference at the Serena Hotel and said, “We’ve had a number of substantive discussions with the Iranians. That’s the good news. The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that’s bad news for Iran much more than it is bad news for the United States of America.”
Dar held a press briefing immediately after Vance’s departure. Dar said that multiple rounds of comprehensive and constructive talks were held between the two delegations. He reaffirmed that Pakistan would continue to play a facilitating role in the dialogue process between the US and Iran.
He expressed hope that both countries would move forward with a positive approach toward lasting peace and prosperity in the region and the world. Dar also said it is essential for both sides to remain committed to maintaining the ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Iranian media, citing Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei, reported that talks between Iran and the US in Islamabad have failed to yield results, but noted that “diplomacy never ends.”
He underlined, “In any situation, the diplomatic apparatus must pursue the rights and interests of the Iranian people.”
Baghaei posted on X that “discussions were held on various dimensions of the main negotiation topics, including the Strait of Hormuz, the nuclear issue, war reparations, lifting of sanctions, and the complete end to the war against Iran and in the region.”
He noted that “Iran and the US have reached an understanding on several issues, and that there were differences of opinion on two to three important matters.”
Despite much of the media describing the talks as a failure, diplomatic sources and observers say the situation is not as closed as it appears. Based on the statements and overall tone of the participating delegations and Pakistani mediators, the process has not reached a complete dead end.
Analysts say it is unrealistic to expect decades of differences to be resolved in just 20 to 21 hours of meetings, adding that the central challenge remains a deep trust deficit between the two sides. However, they note that a positive takeaway is that the talks may have opened at least a narrow window for further engagement in the near future.
