Summary

By Shakir Husain HYDERABAD (Pakistan), April 12 (Bernama) -- Pakistan has urged the United States and Iran to stick to the temporary ceasefire agreed last Tuesday after Saturday's peace talks in Islamabad ended without a deal between the warring sides. "It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to the ceasefire," Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said in a statement on Sunday. "Pakistan has been and will continue to play its role to facilitate engagement and dialogue between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America in the days to come," he added. Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf led his country's delegation with the US negotiators headed by Vice President J.D. Vance during the Islamabad peace talks. Several rounds of "intensive and constructive" talks, mediated by Dar along with Pakistan Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, lasted 24 hours until Sunday morning. "We hope that the two sides continue with the positive spirit to achieve durable peace and prosperity for the entire region and beyond," Dar said. The US team, which included President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff, left Pakistan after failing to make a deal. "The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that's bad news for Iran much more than it's bad news for the United States of America," Vance said. "So we go back to the United States, having not come to an agreement. We've made very clear what our red lines are," he added. Iran blamed the absence of an agreement on the "excessive demands" made by the US. "The success of this diplomatic process depends on the seriousness and good faith of the opposing side, refraining from excessive demands and unlawful requests, and the acceptance of Iran's legitimate rights and interests," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on X. He said the discussions with the US 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." The US-Israeli war on Iran since February 28 has resulted in thousands deaths in Iran as well as in Lebanon, where Israeli attacks have continued despite a temporary US-Iran ceasefire agreed through Pakistan's mediation on April 7. The war has caused a global energy turmoil as the Strait of Hormuz through which one-fifth of global crude oil flows remains choked amid regional military activity. Iran, which is determined to retain control of the vital sea passage on its southern border, harbours deep mistrust towards the US. The US abandoning the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the US-Israeli attacks in June 2025 and this year's war in the midst of diplomatic talks have made Iran bitter. "We have not forgotten and will not forget the experiences of America's breaches of promise and malicious acts. Just as we will not forgive the heinous crimes committed by them and the Zionist regime (of Israel) during the course of the second and third imposed wars," Baqaei said. -- BERNAMA BERNAMA provides up-to-date authentic and comprehensive news and information which are disseminated via BERNAMA Wires; www.bernama.com; BERNAMA TV on Astro 502, unifi TV 631 and MYTV 121 channels and BERNAMA Radio on FM93.9 (Klang Valley), FM107.5 (Johor Bahru), FM107.9 (Kota Kinabalu) and FM100.9 (Kuching) frequencies. Follow us on social media : Facebook : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatv, @bernamaradio Twitter : @bernama.com, @BernamaTV, @bernamaradio Instagram : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatvofficial, @bernamaradioofficial TikTok : @bernamaofficial