Afrasianet - 21 hours of negotiations were not enough to end 47 years of hostility between Iran and the United States.
This was confirmed by the high-level talks in Islamabad, which ended without a real breakthrough despite being held under a temporary truce after a devastating war.
The failure of the marathon negotiating session was not surprising, but observers say it masks the challenge of narrowing wide gaps on complex issues, from old doubts about Iran's nuclear program to the new challenges posed by this war, the most important of which is Iran's control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, whose closure is causing major disruptions in global energy markets.
What will happen?
The urgent question now is what will happen to the two-week ceasefire set by the United States ending on April 21, and will US President Donald Trump be willing to bring his negotiators back to the negotiating table?.
The New York Times says that this failure will impose several unsatisfactory options, namely:
First, protracted negotiations with Tehran over the future of its nuclear program.
Second, the resumption of a war that has already caused the biggest disruption to the energy sector in modern times.
Third: The possibility of a long-term struggle for control of the Strait of Hormuz.
The decision is in Trump's hands
White House officials said they would leave the decision to President Donald Trump, who flew to Florida for the weekend for a UFC fight, to announce the administration's next move.
Trump's response came quickly, in which he asserted that he "does not care whether Iran resumes negotiations or not."
Trump told reporters at Joint Air Force Base in Maryland, upon his return from Florida: "I don't care if they come back or not. If they don't come back, I'm fine."
The US president reiterated Iran's threat to destroy its energy infrastructure unless an agreement is reached with the United States on a definitive end to the war in the Middle East.
"I can eliminate Iran in one day," he told Fox News. "I can (eliminate) everything they have to do with energy, all their plants, all their power plants."
In a later post, Trump noted that Iran had refused to make concessions on its nuclear program.
In response, he added that "the US Navy, the best in the world, will immediately begin to block all ships trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz," warning that "any Iranian who shoots at us or at peaceful ships will be sent to hell."
Indeed, the U.S. military quickly announced that it would begin implementing a ban on traffic to Iranian ports starting Monday.
The future of the Strait of Hormuz has been one of the most contentious issues between the two sides, as Iran has practically closed it since the start of the war, while the United States demands that it be fully reopened and freedom of navigation secured.
Islamabad Tour
Vance did not make many statements about what happened during more than 21 hours of negotiations, hinting that he had made the Iranians a final offer to end their nuclear program for good, which they rejected.
"We have made it very clear what our red lines are, and what things we are willing to compromise," Vance told reporters in Islamabad. "They have chosen not to accept our terms."
Washington maintains that its primary goal is to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon or being able to produce it quickly.
"We need a clear commitment from Iran that it will not seek to acquire a nuclear weapon, and it will not seek the tools to do so quickly," Vance stressed in his short press conference.
In this regard, these negotiations appear to be not much different from those that ended in a stalemate in Geneva in late February, prompting Trump to order what has become 38 days of missile and bomb attacks on Iran, targeting its missile stockpiles, military bases, and industrial base that produces new weapons.
Announcing the suspension of attacks on Iran, the US president described the temporary ceasefire agreement as a complete victory for his country, stressing that the United States has achieved all military objectives.
As Special Envoy Steve Witkoff has said, Iran should simply "give up."
In history, the British network "BBC
", quoting informed sources in Islamabad, said that some talks are continuing after US Vice President J.D. Vance boarded his plane yesterday, noting that his country's delegation presented its "final and best offer".
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar urged all parties to uphold the fragile ceasefire and said they would continue their efforts to encourage dialogue, sentiments that have been echoed in other capitals concerned.
If history is any lesson, the last time Iran reached a nuclear deal with the United States and other world powers, in 2015, took 18 months of breaches and collapses.
Trump has previously made it clear that he does not want to get involved in protracted negotiations.
