Former US President Donald Trump expressed strong optimism on April 16 regarding a potential nuclear agreement with Iran, stating that Tehran had agreed to cease nuclear weapons development and surrender its enriched uranium stockpile. Trump described the prospects for a final deal as "very good" and hinted at another round of talks possibly occurring as early as the upcoming weekend.
During a press briefing, Trump asserted that the deal under negotiation could extend beyond two decades and that Iran had "agreed to almost everything" within the proposed framework. "Iran has agreed not to have a nuclear weapon; they have agreed to it very powerfully," he stated, adding, "They have agreed to give us back the nuclear dust. We have a lot of agreement with Iran, and I think something is going to happen very positively." He also suggested he might travel to Islamabad if an agreement were finalized there, saying, "If a deal is signed in Islamabad, I may go. They want me."
Islamabad Talks Conclude Without Agreement
Despite Trump's optimistic pronouncements, subsequent peace talks held in Islamabad, mediated by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, failed to yield an agreement. The US delegation, led by Vice President JD Vance, and Iran's delegation, headed by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, engaged in 21 hours of continuous negotiation.
Upon the conclusion of the talks, Vice President Vance announced that the negotiations had "failed," citing Iran's refusal to agree to America's core condition of abandoning its nuclear weapons program. Iran's state broadcaster IRIB echoed this sentiment, stating that "unreasonable demands of the American side prevented the progress of the negotiations," despite various initiatives from the Iranian delegation.
The key issues on the table included the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the resolution of the nuclear question, the lifting of international sanctions, and a complete cessation of hostilities against Iran.