Peace Talks Begin In Pakistan, Donald Trump Calls Iran "Failing Nation"

Trump, who referred to Iran as a "failing nation", stated that the US is prepared to "reset" if the negotiations do not proceed as planned.

· NDTV

Trilateral ceasefire talks between the United States, Iran and Pakistan have started in Islamabad. The two countries still appeared to be far apart on key issues such as sanctions, Lebanon, and the opening of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Here are 10 points on this big story:

  • US President Donald Trump said that the US is "clearing out" the Strait of Hormuz. In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that the US is doing this as a "favour" to countries including China, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany and others because they do not have the "will" or the "courage" to do it themselves.
  • Trump said that talks with Iran have begun and that the Strait of Hormuz will open in the "not too distant future". Trump, who referred to Iran as a "failing nation", stated that the US is prepared to "reset" if the negotiations do not proceed as planned. "We're ready to go," he said in an interview with NewsNation.
  • Although talks have begun, for now they are indirect through Pakistani mediators, according to the BBC.
  • Before the talks began, the US and Iranian officials held separate talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif amid a ceasefire that became fragile because of the disagreements between the two countries and fighting in Lebanon.
  • A US delegation headed by Vice President JD Vance and an Iranian delegation headed by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf held separate meetings with Sharif.
  • Despite Iran conditioning a ceasefire based on a pause in strikes in Lebanon, Israel continued with the attacks until Saturday morning, killing at least 3. However, there were no reported strikes in the afternoon.
  • Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf had issued a demand prior to the ceasefire talks. He had said that before negotiations begin, Tehran's blocked assets should be released and there should be a ceasefire in Lebanon.
  • If the indirect talks lead to face-to-face talks, it would become the highest-level face-to-face negotiations between the US and Iran since the Islamic Republic was founded in 1979.
  • Trump, in a Truth Social post on Friday, claimed that Iran has "no cards" in the negotiations other than the "extortion" with the Strait of Hormuz. He also said that the only reason the Iranians are "alive" is to "negotiate".
  • "Our experience in negotiating with the Americans has always been met with failure and broken promises," Ghalibaf said, shortly after landing in Pakistan.

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