Islamabad talks: We don’t trust US despite our good intentions – Iran

Iran has stated that it does not trust the United States of America as they engage in peace talks in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Mutual distrust continues to prevail as both nations arrive in the Pakistani capital for discussions aimed at achieving lasting peace in the Gulf.

“We have good intentions, but we do not have trust,” Iranian state television reported the head of the Iranian delegation, parliamentary speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, as saying upon his arrival.

“Our past experiences in negotiations with the Americans have consistently resulted in failure and unfulfilled promises,” he added.

JD Vance, the US vice-president and leader of their delegation, expressed similar caution, stating before departing aboard Air Force II, “If [the Iranians are] going to attempt to manipulate us, they will discover that the negotiating team is not particularly accommodating.”

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has declared that his primary objective is to ensure that the Islamic Republic does not acquire a nuclear weapon.

“That constitutes 99% of the issue,” Trump remarked.

However, halting the ongoing Israeli strikes on Lebanon is a crucial demand from Iran as a prerequisite for the truce, along with specific terms for permitting shipping traffic through the blockaded Strait of Hormuz.

The Iranian representatives assert that negotiations cannot commence without assurances regarding Lebanon and the unblocking of Iranian assets that have been seized due to sanctions. The positions of Israel and the US maintain that Lebanon is not included in the ceasefire agreement.

Trump, in a social media post, stated, “The Iranians do not seem to understand that they possess no leverage, aside from a temporary extortion of the world by utilizing international waterways. The only reason they are still in existence today is to negotiate!”

Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif remarked that achieving progress will require significant effort. “This is the stage which, in English, is referred to as the equivalent of ‘make or break,’” he commented.

In Islamabad, all access routes leading to the Serena Hotel, the venue for the talks, were secured with heavy security measures, accompanied by banners and signs along the expressway announcing the “Islamabad Talks.”