After the failed peace talks in Pakistan over the weekend, US vice president JD Vance said on Tuesday that there was a lot of “mistrust” between Washington and Tehran, an issue he said cannot be resolved overnight.
His remarks came against the backdrop of President Donald Trump dropping hints that the talks to end the war in Iran could resume in Islamabad over the next two days. Follow US-Iran war news live updates
Vance was the lead negotiator for the US delegation in the talks with Iran.
Speaking at a Turning Point USA event, Vance noted that the negotiation in Islamabad was a meeting at a level that had never taken place between Iran and the US in nearly five decades.
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The vice president said there was a lot of mistrust between the two sides, adding that it cannot be resolved overnight.
“This was a meeting that never happened at that level between the US and the Iranian government in 49 years… So there is a lot of mistrust between Iran and the USA, and it can’t be solved overnight,” Vance said.
However, Vance affirmed that the Iranian negotiators wanted to make a deal, adding that he feels good about the positions of the two sides. “I know that the people sitting across wanted to make a deal… We negotiated in good faith… I feel very good about where we are,” he added.
Two-week ceasefire, but a US naval blockade
The joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 triggered the ongoing war in the Middle East region, with strikes spilling onto Gulf nations, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, etc.
Last week, Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, just an hour and a half before his self-imposed deadline expired. The US President said it would be a “double-sided ceasefire” and subject to the “complete reopening” of the Strait of Hormuz.
Though the two-week ceasefire is still in effect, peace talks between Iran and the US in Islamabad, Pakistan, over the weekend bore no fruit. Delegations from both sides returned to their countries without a deal.
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Following the failure of the peace talks, Trump announced a blockade of all Iranian ports by the US naval forces. He said that the American troops would block all vessels from entering or exiting Iran.
The US Central Command on Tuesday said that the forces “fully implemented” the blockade of Iranian ports.
“An estimated 90% of Iran’s economy is fueled by international trade by sea. In less than 36 hours since the blockade was implemented, US forces have completely halted economic trade into and out of Iran by sea,” the Central Command said in a post on X.
Trump hints talks could resume soon
US President Donald Trump hinted on Tuesday that a fresh round of talks between Iran and the US could resume later this week in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Fox News, Trump said he thinks that the war with Iran is close to over. “I view it as very close to being over,” he added.
“I think it’s – I had to divert because if I didn’t do that, right now you’d have Iran with a nuclear weapon. And if they had a nuclear weapon, you’d be calling everyone over there ‘sir,’ and you don’t want to do that,” Trump said.
