The failure of talks between Iran and the U.S. in Islamabad raises several questions. First. Did it make sense to hold a marathon twenty-one-hour session to resolve the complex issues between the two countries, which had bitter relations since 1979? Would it not have been better to have at least two or three days of talks?
Second. The U.S. delegation, as one can make out from the words of its leader, Vice President Vance, appears to have given the impression to its interlocutor that Iran was to accept what was presented. If that was the intention, there was no need to spend twenty-one hours. This raises a fundamental question: Does the Trump administration understand Iran, its long history, culture, and the Shia mindset at all?
Third. Was President Trump serious and sincere, or was he pretending to negotiate? Any negotiation implies give and take. Iran expected and demanded a cessation of Israel’s attack on Hezbollah and the release of frozen funds, even before the talks.
It seems that Trump is unable or unwilling to make Israel stop the bombing. If so, what prevented him from a token release of the frozen funds? Does Trump, the so-called master dealer, honestly hold that all giving is by Iran and all taking by him?
Fourth. What was the role of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who telephoned Vance? Of course, Netanyahu was the invisible elephant in the room. In fact, Netanyahu himself has revealed that JD Vance kept him informed of developments in the negotiations. At a cabinet meeting, he said:
I spoke yesterday with Vice President J.D. Vance. He called me from his plane on his way back from Islamabad. He reported to me in detail, as this administration does every day, about the development of the negotiations.
There is also reason to believe that either Steve Witkoff or Jared Kushner was keeping Netanyahu briefed on the talks. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, wrote on X:
Netanyahu’s criminal trial resumes on Sun. A region-wide ceasefire, incl in Lebanon, would hasten his jailing. If the U S. wishes to crater its economy by letting Netanyahu kill diplomacy, that would ultimately be its choice. We think that would be dumb but are prepared for it.
Is it likely that Netanyahu told Vance that he would ensure that the powerful Jewish lobby would support him (Vance) at the next presidential election?
Vance told the media that the talks broke down primarily over disagreement on the nuclear issue. Does it mean that there was agreement on other issues, such as Israel’s war on Lebanon, Hormuz, and the release of funds?
We need to note that Trump has been misleading the Americans and the rest of the world on the nuclear issue. The 2015 nuclear deal, JCPOA, when Barack Obama was president, ensured that Iran would never make a bomb as the IAEA had full access to Iran’s nuclear activities.
Trump unilaterally walked out of it in 2018, to the consternation of the fellow-signatories—Russia, China, U.K., France, and Germany—and of the international community, with only 6 countries out of the 193 member states of the U.N. supporting him.
Moreover, on 22 June 2025, after launching a series of strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Trump boasted that it was a “spectacular military success,” because “Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.” If Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities were wiped out, what was the need to bomb Iran again?
What is even more shocking is that on 27 February 2026, during talks at the Embassy of Oman in Geneva, mediated by the Omani foreign minister, Badr Albusaidi, declared on Face the Nation that Iran agreed to a “zero stockpiling” deal, eliminating enriched uranium stockpiles to prevent the development of nuclear weapons. He had personally briefed Vance on that date.
Despite all that, Trump is able to make his MAGA set believe that Iran would have made a bomb but for Trump’s Epic Fury. Doesn’t democracy imply an intelligent and ever-alert citizenry?
Even before the talks ended, Trump had told the media that he couldn’t care less about the success or failure of the talks, and had given orders to the Central Command to stop Iran from exporting oil.
In a social media post on Sunday, he accused Iran of “extortion” and said the US Navy would also hunt down and interdict ships in international waters that have paid Iran a toll to traverse the strait. He said US forces will also begin clearing mines that he says Iran placed in the strait.
Strangely enough, on 6 April, he had said that as the winner of the war, he could charge a fee from ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz-
The IRGC (Islamic Republic Guard Corps) has made it clear that it will not let the U.S. Navy take over the Strait of Hormuz. There are reports that the IRGC is targeting the U.S. ships with drones. The Central Command’s blockade of Iran’s ports and coastline has already begun. The IRGC has warned of a ‘harsh response’.
The NATO members have refused to support the U.S. by sending their navies to the blockade, even though Trump has been saying that other countries would join. The two-week pause Trump had announced should have lasted till 22 April. However, he is himself breaking it eight days ahead.
To figure out what might happen in the next few days, let us start with the principal actors in this unfolding, unscripted tragedy.
Who is the most important actor? Netanyahu or Trump? Perhaps it is Netanyahu. He did not oblige Trump by scaling down the bombing in Lebanon. He might have intervened in the talks in Islamabad.
The ceasefire between Iran and the US “could turn on a dime,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the start of Monday’s cabinet meeting, according to multiple Hebrew media reports.
The comment came in the context of preparations for the official Independence Day ceremony next Tuesday night, with the premier adding that “we should record [the ceremony] — and if, and to the extent, that the security situation allows, then we can hold the ceremony with an audience,” according to the Walla news site.
Netanyahu was to appear in court for a hearing on corruption charges dating back to 2019. He asked for permission to be absent owing to important work, and the court has asked his advocate to find out whether he can appear next week.
He has sought pardon from President Iassac Herzog, even as he maintains he is innocent. How can an innocent man be pardoned? Unsurprisingly, Trump has abused Herzog over his refusal to grant a pardon.
Left to himself, Netanyahu would like the war to last till the October elections, agree to a ceasefire a few days before the voting, project himself as the war hero who has replicated a ‘Gaza’ in Iran and get elected with a landslide majority.
Polls conducted recently indicate that Netanyahu’s coalition is not likely to get a majority if an election is held now. However, Trump cannot afford such a long war. He is to meet President Xi Jinping in mid-May. True to his style, Trump has threatened China with 50 per cent tariffs if it sends air defence to Iran after the U.S. intelligence claimed that China was about to do that. If the war is still on when he is in Beijing, the summit will be a bad one.
Public support for the war is low, with only a quarter of the polled approving it. The oil price will shoot up. The average American may or may not care much about the thousands of civilians killed in Iran. But he cares about what he has to pay at the pump.
We may hope that Trump is likely to declare ‘victory’ and move on to Cuba in a week or two. He might let Netanyahu continue with his war on Lebanon.
As early as 16 March, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the U.K. urged Israel not to pursue a ground offensive in Lebanon and asked officials from the two countries to negotiate a political solution. Here, we should note that Israel is always treated with kid’s gloves by Europe, with one or two exceptions. Why didn’t they summon the Israeli ambassador and lodge a protest, and even threaten to recall their ambassadors if the response from Israel is not satisfactory?
One can always find a line or two from Shakespeare to describe the human condition. Trump’s Operation Epic Fury reminds one:
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
We need to add that the last two words need to be changed. A 2026 UNDP report warns that military escalation in the Middle East could push up to 32.5 million more people into poverty globally.
There was a time when India, under Jawaharlal Nehru, contributed to conflict resolution with V.K. Krishna Menon engaging with the parties. Where is Mr Modi, the self-proclaimed “Vishwaguru”?
-30-
Copyright©Madras Courier, All Rights Reserved. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from madrascourier.com and redistribute by email, post to the web, mobile phone or social media.Please send in your feed back and comments to [email protected]
