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Top negotiator Araghchi says Iran and US were ‘inches away’ from ‘Islamabad MoU’

US-Iran talks in Islamabad collapsed despite nearing a deal, with Iran blaming US “maximalism” and shifting demands amid ongoing ceasefire tensions.

Pakistan US IranIn this photo released by the Pakistan Prime Minister Office, visiting Iranian delegation headed by Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, third left, meet with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in Islamabad, Pakistan. (Photo: AP)

The US-Iran talks, held in Islamabad on Saturday amid the two-week ceasefire, was “inches away” from an agreement before the US “maximalism” led to a collapse of negotiations, Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Monday.

In a post on X, Araghchi said Iran had negotiated with the US in “good faith” to halt the conflict in West Asia. “But when just inches away from “Islamabad MoU”, we encountered maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade,” he wrote.

Araghchi then echoed earlier threats from Iranian officials and said, “Zero lessons learned. Good will begets good will. Enmity begets enmity.”

US Vice President JD Vance, who was leading the American delegation which included President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, said the talks failed after Iranian delegation refrained from forgoing its nuclear programme among other reasons.

According to a US official, Vance’s role in Islamabad talks was to highlight America’s red lines and present the issues where there was a room to negotiate, AP reported.

The official added that the core objective for US negotiators in Pakistan was to ensure that Tehran never secures a nuclear weapon. However, there were additional red lines which were set by Washington, that Tehran objected to.

What are US red lines mentioned during Islamabad talks?

  • Iran to end Uranium enrichment
  • Iran to dismantle its major enrichment facilities
  • Iran allowing retrieval of its highly enriched uranium
  • Iran ending funding for Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis
  • Iran creates a broader framework for peace and security in the region
  • Opening the Strait of Hormuz

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