Twenty-one hours was never going to be enough to erase 47 years of hostility between Iran and the United States.
The high-stakes talks in Islamabad held during a fragile pause in weeks of intense conflict were always unlikely to produce a breakthrough.
Labeling the lengthy negotiations a failure oversimplifies the situation. The issues on the table were vast and deeply entrenched: long-standing mistrust over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, alongside new tensions sparked by the war especially Iran’s grip on the crucial Strait of Hormuz, whose disruption is sending shockwaves through the global economy.
Reaching any agreement would have required more than discussion; it demanded bridging a profound divide of distrust.
Just a day earlier, even the possibility of both sides meeting let alone sharing the same room was uncertain.
In that sense, simply holding the talks marked a significant shift, breaking a long-standing political taboo.
Now, attention turns to what comes next.
What will become of the fragile two-week ceasefire that helped pull the world back from the brink after former US President Donald Trump warned of destroying an entire civilisation in Iran?
