- Nuke deal in tatters after marathon 21-hour summit ends in “distrust”
By OUR FOREIGN STAFF
US VICE President JD Vance has stormed out of high-stakes talks in Pakistan, warns that the world is “back to the brink” after Iran refused to bin its nuclear weapons program.
In a dramatic sunrise exit from Islamabad, the American VP packed his bags after a grueling 21-hour marathon session ended in total deadlock.
NO DEAL
Vance, acting as the heavy hitter for the Trump administration, told reporters on the tarmac that the Islamic Republic had flatly rejected “red line” demands from Washington.
”The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement,” a stony-faced Vance said before boarding Air Force Two. “And I think that’s bad news for Iran much more than it’s bad news for the United States.”
The VP confirmed he had been on the blower to President Trump at least six times during the night as negotiators tried to hammer out a ceasefire and a nuclear freeze.
But the talks hit a brick wall over one terrifying issue: The Bomb.
Vance fumed: “We need an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon. They chose not to accept our terms.”
But Tehran’s spin-doctors were quick to fire back, claiming the Americans were being “unreasonable.”
Iranian officials insisted “some progress” was made despite a “lack of trust,” with a spokesman for their Foreign Ministry sniffing that nobody should have expected a miracle in just one day.
The summit in Pakistan was seen as a “last chance saloon” to prevent a total flare-up in the Middle East. Relations between the two powers have been at rock bottom since the US-Israel-Iran conflict intensified earlier this year.
THE US DEMAND: Stop building the “tools” for an atomic bomb immediately and allow inspectors back in.
THE IRANIAN STALL: Tehran wants sanctions lifted first and claims the US cannot be trusted to keep its word.
THE PAKISTAN FACTOR: Islamabad acted as the middleman, desperate to stop the war spilling over its own borders.
With Vance headed back to the White House empty-handed, the “red lines” have never looked more like a fuse.