Trump orders negotiators to Pakistan, but Iran on the fence over talks

AFP | Washington

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“ No more Mr Nice Guy,” US President Donald Trump declared as he confirmed American negotiators will travel to Pakistan today to resume talks aimed at ending the war with Iran, while warning of sweeping strikes if no deal is reached.

Iran, however, appeared cool to the prospect of talks, particularly in light of the ongoing US blockade of its ports, according to Iranian media reports.

The Fars and Tasnim news agencies cited anonymous sources as saying Tehran had yet to decide whether it would take part and that “the overall atmosphere cannot be assessed as very positive”, adding that lifting the US blockade was a precondition for negotiations.

State-run IRNA, meanwhile, pointed to the blockade and Washington’s “unreasonable and unrealistic demands”, saying that “in these circumstances, there is no clear prospect of fruitful negotiations”.

Iran and the United States, along with Israel, are just three days away from the end of the two-week ceasefire that halted the Middle East war, ignited by surprise US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.

There has so far been only a single, 21- h o u r negotiating session held in Islamabad on April 11 that ended inconclusively, though groundwork for fresh talks continued afterwards.

“We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it,” Trump said in his post. Iran’s speaker of parliament and senior negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf had insisted as recently as Saturday night that the two sides were “still far from the final discussion”.

Vance will lead US team

US Vice President JD Vance will lead the US delegation for talks with Iran in Pakistan, a White House official said yest e r d a y -- shortly after President Donald Trump said he would not make the trip.

Early in the day, Trump announced he was sending negotiators to Islamabad for meetings with Tehran about ending the conflict that has raged in the Middle East, with a ceasefire soon set to expire.

The president however said Vance -- who led the last round of talks with Tehran in Islamabad, but came away with no deal -- would not make the trip, citing security concerns. “It’s only because of security,” Trump told ABC News. “JD’s great.”

But the White House quickly flipped the script, when asked about those comments.