NEW DELHI — Foreign Affairs expert and veteran journalist Waiel Awwad said on Sunday that the talks between Iran and US that were held amid the two-week ceasefire agreement between the two countries, have not “failed”. Rather, he called the negotiation “inconclusive”.
His reaction comes following US Vice-President JD Vance’s announcement that no agreement was reached between Washington and Tehran in the latest round of talks held in Pakistan’s Islamabad.
Speaking to IANS, Awwad said that after 1949, this is the “highest level of talks”, with the US Vice-President sitting with Iranian delegation to discuss issues related to the common interest of both sides.
He noted, “I wouldn’t call it a failure, as neither the Iranian nor the American side has described it as such. It is inconclusive. Both sides have agreed on certain points, Iran has presented 10 points, while the US has put forward 15 points.”
Awwad said that America wanted to project itself as a winner during the negotiation.
“Both were on the table but the US wanted to talk from the point of view of a winner. Iran told them that ‘you are not a winner here’. Therefore, there has to be some convergence of certain points where they have agreed,” he added.
He said that there are three “sticking issues” that are at the centre of the ceasefire talks.
“First is the nuclear issue. Iran has already changed its system,” Awwad added.
He called the Strait of Hormuz as the second issue.
“They (Iran) said it is not what it used to be before the war. Now the things have changed,” Awwad said.
“Third one is the cessation of all hostilities, that there should be a complete ceasefire and not a temporary one,” he added.
About Pakistan’s role in the negotiation, the Foreign Affairs expert said that the country is not in a position to “enforce a resolution or a deal”.
Moreover, he highlighted that if the US wants to seriously reach to a deal, they have to sit across the table and “compromise on many issues because Iran has compromised on their nuclear issue”.
Referring to the third round of US-Iran’s indirect nuclear talks in Geneva, Awwad said, “Then, US was informed that Iran was ready for any sort of a deal to downgrade their rich uranium.”
He alleged that US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff went back to America and gave “wrong information despite the fact that it was confirmed by the Omani and the Britain National Security Advisor that the talks have reached a breakthrough”.
“Yet the US went for a war,” Awwad said.
He asserted, “Iranians are not easy to be betrayed three times by the same people.” — IANS
