World urges more US-Iran talks as Pakistan vows to facilitate dialogue

World figures urged the United States and Iran to keep negotiating after marathon Washington-Tehran talks in Islamabad ended on Sunday without a deal to end the war in the Middle East.

The entire US negotiating team has left the failed Iran talks in Islamabad, a US official, leaving nobody in the Pakistani capital to pursue back-channel discussions.

There had been speculation that  some of the team, which included chief negotiators Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, might stay behind to pursue further discussions.

 Iran says US attempting to 'dictate' terms 
 

Iran's former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who led his country's delegation at 2015 nuclear talks, blamed the failure of negotiations on US attempts to "dictate" its terms.

"No negotiations -- at least with Iran -- will succeed based on 'our/your terms'," said Zarif, one of the architects of the nuclear deal with the United States and other world powers, which was abandoned in 2018 by US President Donald Trump.

US Vice President JD Vance departed Pakistan aboard Air Force Two soon after saying that talks with Iran failed to reach an agreement after he put forward a "final and best offer".

"The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon and will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon," he told reporters in Islamabad, on the main sticking point for talks moving ahead.

- Iran says no trust -

Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who took part in peace talks with the United States in Islamabad this weekend, said that Washington was "unable" to win Tehran's trust during the discussions.

"My colleagues in the Iranian delegation... put forward constructive initiatives but ultimately the other side was unable to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations," Ghalibaf said in a post on X.

- Pakistan urges ceasefire -

"It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to cease fire," said Pakistan's foreign minister Ishaq Dar, whose government hosted the talks and acted as a mediator.

"Pakistan has been and will continue to play its role to facilitate engagement and dialogue between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America in the days to come," he said in a brief statement broadcast by state media.

 EU urges diplomacy -

Diplomacy is "essential" to resolve the war in the Middle East, a European Union spokesman said.

Noting failed US-Iranian talks hosted by Pakistan, EU foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni said "we salute Pakistan for its mediation efforts" and added Brussels would contribute to further efforts to reach a settlement in coordination with its partners

 - Putin offers mediation -
Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian that he was ready to help mediate efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East, the Kremlin said.

"Vladimir Putin emphasised his readiness to further facilitate the search for a political and diplomatic settlement to the conflict, and to mediate efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in the Middle East," the Kremlin said in its readout of the call.

- UK disappointed -
"It's obviously disappointing that we haven't yet seen a breakthrough in negotiations and an end to this war in Iran that is a sustainable one," UK health minister Wes Streeting told Sky News.

"As ever in diplomacy, you're failing, until you succeed. So while these talks may not have ended in success, (it) doesn't mean there isn't merit in continuing to try," he added.

- Australia urges more talks -
"The priority now must be to continue the ceasefire and return to negotiations," Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement, adding it was "disappointing that the Islamabad talks between the United States and Iran have ended without agreement".

Oman FM says success in talks may require 'painful concessions'

Oman's foreign minister on Sunday called for more talks between Iran and the US and for the ceasefire to be extended, hours after negotiations failed to reach a deal during a high-stakes meeting in Pakistan.

"I urge that the ceasefire be extended and talks continue," Badr al-Busaidi wrote in a post on X.

"Success may require everyone to make painful concessions, but this is nothing as compared to the pain of failure and war."

- Tehran downplays no-deal finish -
 

Iran's foreign ministry said no one had held any expectation that talks with the United States could have reached an agreement within one session after the negotiations in Islamabad stalled.

"Naturally, from the beginning we should not have expected to reach an agreement in a single session. No one had such an expectation," ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said, according to state broadcaster IRIB.

AFP/APP