Iranian negotiators failed to meet the United States on six of its key red lines during talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, over the weekend, according to a U.S. official. An official told Breitbart News that Iran did not agree to the United States’s red lines, which include ending all uranium enrichment; dismantling all major nuclear enrichment facilities; allowing for the retrieval of highly enriched uranium; accepting a broader peace, security, and de-escalation framework that includes regional allies; ending funding for terrorist proxies Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis; and fully opening the Strait of Hormuz, charging no tolls for passage. Vance understood, upon entering the discussions, that there was potential for enormous distrust and misperception, given that the United States and Iran have had minimal interaction over the past 50 or so years, according to an official. Vance approached the discussions with the intention of reaching a mutual understanding of both sides’ goals and negotiating space, and by the end of 21 hours of negotiations, the sides exchanged proposals in a productive fashion, an official told Breitbart News. WATCH — President Trump: 99 Percent of What We Want from Iran Is No Nuclear Weapons: The progression in talks, which were tough, came despite the Iranians not sufficiently understanding at the outset that the United States’ core objective in any deal is that Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon. Vance made this key stipulation clear to the Iranians while also listening to them. While he left without a deal, Vance proposed what the official said was the best and final offer, which the vice president believes Iran should find acceptable. Vance also found that Iran’s delegation had a fundamental misunderstanding of its lack of leverage when it entered the talks, per the official, who stressed that a deal cannot be reached as long as the Iranians believe they hold leverage they do not actually have. The misconception among Iranians about leverage factored into Vance leaving Pakistan after giving them the final offer, with the official noting that they need to understand the assumptions they had upon entering talks are not supported by realities on the ground. Accepting this reality is key before they will be ready to entertain a serious offer, per the official. The official stressed that it is up to the Iranians to accept the offer, and that Vance is hopeful that, after reflection in the days ahead, his counterparties will come to realize his final offer is in the best interest of both sides. “We leave here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding that is our final and best offer. We’ll see if the Iranians accept it,” Vance notably said Saturday night, Eastern time. The official noted to Breitbart News that the U.S. national security team has developed a plan to break Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz after discussions with President Donald Trump. The official added that Trump will test the Iranians’ vulnerabilities after Vance probed them in negotiations. COMMENTS Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.
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International mediators have proposed a 10-day ceasefire between the United States and Iran, according to a senior Iranian official cited in reports. The measure is described as intended to reduce hostilities and allow renewed talks on a prior interim agreement.
Both sides are assessing next steps in the current regional security situation.
Reports indicate that a US-Iran ceasefire has broken down amid renewed fighting, with the potential impact of mediation efforts by Pakistan, Qatar, and Oman remaining unclear. Earlier diplomatic steps included a June memorandum of understanding between the parties for further negotiations and talks hosted in Geneva in February.
The summary also references Europe’s historical role in diplomacy, including the 1814-15 Congress of Vienna.
Donald Trump stated in a Fox News interview that his representatives had spoken with Iranian officials an hour earlier and that those officials wanted to make a deal to end the conflict, though he noted they had broken prior agreements and expressed uncertainty about whether one would be reached.
He added that people do not want to die and that Iran would need to proceed carefully to avoid further losses. The remarks come amid an ongoing US-Iran conflict that has involved casualties and shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, with some social media users criticizing the repetition of similar statements.
Why the Iran-US ceasefire is falling apart Iran and the US have resumed fighting because they don’t see each other as ‘reliable negotiating partners’, says analyst Ali Vaez. Neither Iran nor the United States seems able to deliver a “knockout blow at an acceptable price” to the other side, and both know “they have no choice other than engaging in diplomacy”, but they’re not ready to make uncomfortable concessions, argues Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at International Crisis Group.
Vaez tells host Steve Clemons that Tehran and Washington are trying to “enforce their own interpretation” of the ceasefire agreement they signed last month. President Trump has become “frustrated” with diplomacy because he’s not seeing “the kind of quick results that he likes to see”, Vaez says.