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Efforts to reach a 48-hour ceasefire in the Iran war have hit a dead end Friday.
Pakistan mediated the diplomatic endeavor which was led by multiple Middle Eastern nations. The temporary ceasefire was hoped to trigger the resumption of peace talks.
Tehran told the mediators that it finds Washington’s demands irrational and unacceptable, and that it is unwilling to meet U.S. officials in Islamabad in the coming days.
The reluctance to make a deal may be rooted in an event from earlier in the week – the killing of a key negotiator.
Israel, the nation which dragged the U.S. into war against Iran, has attempted to prevent its client-state from attempting to end the conflict via bombing Tehran’s negotiator Kamal Kharazi before he could meet with Vice President JD Vance.
“Reports indicate that Israel has carried out a high-impact airstrike that may have disrupted sensitive backchannel diplomacy between Iran and the United States. Former Iranian foreign minister Kamal Kharazi, a key nuclear negotiator and influential policy adviser, was reportedly severely injured, while his wife was killed. It remains unclear if Kharazi was the intended target or caught in collateral damage. Iranian and regional media suggest this could escalate tensions further, signaling a sharp blow to diplomatic efforts amid ongoing Middle East conflict,” Times of India reported Thursday.
The Israeli strike appears to have driven a wedge between the U.S. and Iran, as prior to it President Donald Trump said “we’re doing extremely well in that negotiation.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said there were no direct talks with Washington (the talks were through the intermediary Pakistan) and Tehran found the 15-point proposal from the Trump administration to include “excessive and unreasonable demands.”
Despite Friday’s dead end, Turkey and Egypt are exploring new venues and diplomatic methods to bring about a settlement.
