US Vice President JD Vance stated that the stalemate in the first round of talks between the United States and Iran in Islamabad was due to the deep-rooted mistrust between the two nations.
However, he struck a cautiously optimistic tone about the prospects of reaching a deal with Tehran in a potential second round of negotiations.
During a Turning Point USA event at the University of Georgia, Vance stated that the level of mistrust was due to the lack of high-level diplomatic engagement between the two nations for almost half a century, noting that his meeting with the Iranian delegation was the first such high-level meeting between the two nations.
He emphasised the significance of the engagement, noting that such direct, high-level dialogue marks an unprecedented step in US-Iran relations.
“The United States had never had meetings at that level with the Iranian government in 49 years. It’s a meeting that had never before happened. Not Democrat, not Republican. We never had a meeting like that where you have the person who’s effectively running the country in Iran sitting across from the vice president of the United States. That had never happened,” Vance said.
“And what I see, honestly, after 49 years, is there’s a lot of mistrust between Iran and the United States of America. You’re not going to solve that problem overnight,” he added.
Despite the challenges, the US Vice President indicated that there were positive signs during the discussions, adding that the US delegation approached the talks with sincerity.
Vance further noted that US President Donald Trump had directed officials to negotiate in good faith.
“I think the people we’re sitting across from wanted to make a deal. And I know the president of the United States told us to go out there and negotiate in good faith. That’s what we did. That’s what we’re going to keep on doing. So, you never know, though,” the US Vice President said.
The remarks come amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran, following a stalemate in talks held in Islamabad in order to achieve a complete halt in hostilities in West Asia.
