US President Donald Trump said on Friday that his main focus in the upcoming talks with Iran in Pakistan’s Islamabad would be to ensure that Tehran cannot have a nuclear weapon. He also said the Strait of Hormuz would be kept open “with or without” Iran’s support.
Trump has sent vice president JD Vance to Pakistan for discussions with Iranian officials, hoping to secure a peace agreement in the West Asia conflict after a two-week ceasefire that came into effect on Tuesday.
Trump’s key condition ahead of talks
Speaking to reporters after departing Washington for a domestic visit, the US President said any acceptable deal with Iran must guarantee that it has “no nuclear weapons”.
“No nuclear weapon. That’s 99 per cent of it,” he said.
He also reiterated his stance on keeping the Strait of Hormuz open “with or without” Iran’s support. The issue is expected to loom large in the Islamabad talks, as the route carries about one-fifth of the world’s crude oil supply.
“We’re going to open up the Gulf with or without them…or the strait, as they call it. I think it’s going to go pretty quickly, and if it doesn’t, we’ll be able to finish it off,” he said.
US-Iran talks in Pakistan
The US team, led by Vance and including Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, was travelling to Islamabad after stopping in Paris to refuel.
The Iranian side, led by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf and foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, arrived in the Pakistani capital on Friday.
Vance, speaking while en route to Pakistan, said he was hopeful of a positive result, but added: “If they’re going to try to play us, then they’re going to find the negotiating team is not that receptive.”
The head of the Iranian delegation, Ghalibaf, also struck a cautious note.
“We have good intentions but we do not trust,” Iranian state TV quoted Ghalibaf as saying upon his arrival in Pakistan’s capital. “Our experience in negotiating with the Americans has always been met with failure and broken promises.”
Tehran has said the talks will begin only if Washington agrees to its conditions, including a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of Iran’s frozen assets. Notably, Israel has said the ceasefire between the US and Iran does not apply to Lebanon.
Lebanese authorities say the weeks of fighting have left more than 1,950 people dead. Israeli strikes alone killed more than 350 people on Wednesday, the first full day of the US-Iran ceasefire.
With inputs from agencies
