There is a lot of mistrust between the US and Iran, and that cannot be solved overnight, Vice President JD Vance, who led a delegation on ceasefire talks with Tehran, has said, suggesting the two sides want to make a deal ahead of the second round of negotiations.
Vance said the meeting in Islamabad, even though inconclusive, was the first of its kind in the past 49 years between Washington and Tehran and that the stakeholders want to make a deal. What's noteworthy with Vance's remarks is that they come at a time when Israel, too, held peace talks with Lebanon, a key contention point in the US-Iran truce deal.
"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, but 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 said while speaking at Turning Point USA on Tuesday.
Trump wants a broader deal: Vance
Vance went on to say that the administration of US President Donald Trump is not pursuing a limited agreement, but a far broader deal.
“The President has made it clear that Iran cannot be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, and we are committed to ensuring that outcome… He is not interested in a small deal, but in a grand bargain,” he said.
He added that while “a ton of progress” had been made during talks in Pakistan, the agreement was not finalised as Washington is seeking a more comprehensive arrangement, one that guarantees Iran remains non-nuclear while also enabling its economy to integrate with the global system.
Israel-Lebanon talks
The State Department said the first high-level meeting between Israel and Lebanon in decades was “productive” and would continue, with the aim of launching direct negotiations.
In a statement issued after the two-hour session in Washington between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon to the United States, the department said, “All sides agreed to launch direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and venue.”
Israel has been engaged in fighting with Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement and has called for the group, which opposed the talks and was not represented, to be disarmed.
