‘Goodwill but no trust’: Wary Iran and US head to Islamabad talks; what each side wants

Iran and the United States head into high-stakes talks in Islamabad on Saturday with both sides openly wary of each other. While Tehran has reiterated that it approaches negotiations with “goodwill but no trust,” Washington has also signalled caution.
Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Friday night reiterated Tehran’s deep distrust of the United States. According to the Tasnim News Agency, he said, "Our experience of negotiations with the Americans has always been met with failure and breach of promise. They attacked us twice in the middle of the negotiations. We have goodwill but no trust." Track US-Iran war live updates.

Ghalibaf made the remarks upon arriving in Islamabad, where he is leading a high-level delegation for expected discussions involving the American side. His comments came in response to recent statements by US Vice President JD Vance.

Earlier in the day, Vance said that “If the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we're certainly willing to extend the open hand,” but warned that “if they're going to try to play us, then they're going to find the negotiating team is not that receptive,” AFP quoted him as saying.

Vance is travelling to Islamabad along with US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff.

“A temporary ceasefire has been announced, but now an even more difficult stage lies ahead: the stage of achieving a lasting ceasefire, of resolving complicated issues through negotiations,” he said. “This is that stage which, in English, is called the equivalent of 'make or break,'” AFP reported.

According to a statement from Pakistan’s foreign office, Ghalibaf’s delegation was received upon arrival by deputy PM Ishaq Dar, chief of defence forces and army chief field marshal Asim Munir, national assembly speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and interior minister Mohsin Naqvi.

source:hindustantimes.com