The Guardian
US and Iranian delegations fail to reach common ground after 21 hours of negotiations, with both sides blaming the other for unreasonable demands Hello, and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East, as US-Iran peace talks in Islamabad seemingly broke down on Sunday. After a marathon 21-hour first day of talks, US vice-president JD Vance announced on Sunday that his negotiating team was leaving Pakistan without reaching a deal. High-stakes negotiations between the US and Iran appeared to break down on Sunday, despite the historic and face-to-face meetings marking the highest-level direct engagement between Washington and Tehran in decades . The talks in Pakistan were aimed at securing a peace agreement to end the weeks-long war. The core US delegation was led by Vance, who has now left Pakistan. The Iranian foreign ministry had warned earlier that the success of this weekend’s talks depended on Washington avoiding “excessive demands” and “unlawful requests”. Among issues discussed were the strategic strait of Hormuz, nuclear development, war reparations, and sanctions. The strait of Hormuz remains among the main points of “serious disagreement” , Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that Israel remains committed to keep fighting Iran . “Israel under my leadership will continue to fight Iran’s terror regime and its proxies,” Netanyahu wrote on social media. Israel was not present at the US-Iran talks. Donald Trump told reporters outside the White House that it made “no difference” to him if a deal was reached with Iran . “Regardless of what happens, we win,” Trump said. “Whether we make a deal or not, makes no difference to me.” The latest Israeli attacks on Lebanon have pushed the death toll to more than 2,000 with more than 6,300 wounded, according to the health ministry. Earlier, the Iranian negotiators demanded a ceasefire in Lebanon, reparations and commitment to unblock frozen assets as part of a peace deal in a preliminary meeting with Pakistani mediators. The US military says it “began setting conditions for clearing mines in the strait of Hormuz” in an update released on Saturday afternoon , saying two navy destroyers had transited the strait. A spokesperson for Iran’s joint military command later denied the claim by the US military that the navy destroyers transited the waterway. Continue reading...
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