In interview with Fox News, he says both helped mediate between two countries that have not had talks in a long time
PM Shehbaz (L), US Vice President JD Vance (Centre), CDF Munir (R). PHOTO: EXPRESS
US Vice President JD Vance praised Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir for their role in facilitating talks between the United States and Iran.
In an interview with Fox News, he described both leaders as exceptional hosts and commended their statesmanship in helping mediate discussions between the two countries.
He said, “I have to give a lot of credit to Field Marshal Asim Munir and Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz Sharif. Both were exceptional hosts and showed real statesmanship in helping mediate the conversation between us and the Iranians, two countries that have not had serious talks in a very long time”.
Earlier on Sunday, Vance said that intensive 21-hour discussions with Iran did not reach an agreement. He also appreciated Pakistan’s efforts for a deal. The US and Iranian delegations have left Islamabad to return home.
“The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that’s bad news for Iran much more than it’s bad news for the United States of America,” Vance, the head of the US delegation, told reporters shortly before he left Islamabad.
Read More: Vance leaves Islamabad after 21-hour talks end without agreement, praises Pakistan’s mediation efforts
He appreciated PM Shehbaz and CDF Munir, saying, “Both incredible hosts, and whatever shortcomings of the negotiation, it wasn’t because of the Pakistanis who did an amazing job and really tried to help us and the Iranians bridge the gap and get to a deal.”
Vance said Iran had chosen not to accept American terms, including not to build nuclear weapons.
“We need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon. That is the core goal of the president of the US, and that’s what we’ve tried to achieve through these negotiations.”
Vance said he had spoken with President Trump as many as a dozen times during the talks. But even as the negotiations continued, Trump said on Saturday that a deal was not entirely necessary. “We’re negotiating. Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me, because we’ve won,” he told reporters.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump on Monday said that “people” from Iran had contacted the United States, indicating that Tehran wanted a deal, as the American Navy began a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz to prevent ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports.
Speaking outside the Oval Office, Trump did not specify who had called whom, what the US response was, or what other issues were discussed during the contact. The president also gave no details about the content of the conversation.
Also Read: US president claims fresh Iran contact for deal
“I can tell you that we’ve been called by the other side,” Trump said, referring to Iran. “We’ve been called this morning by the right people, the appropriate people, and they want to work a deal.”
The US and Iran had held talks in Islamabad that ended in the early hours of Sunday without an agreement, raising questions about what happens when the current two-week truce expires on April 22. As negotiations wrapped up, both sides blamed each other for the failure.
Just hours later, Trump announced a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a move that immediately drew a sharp warning from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which vowed a “forceful response” to any hostile action.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social on Sunday, Trump had said the United States Navy would “begin the process of blockading any and all ships trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz.”
The blockade took effect at 2pm GMT on Monday. Trump warned that if any Iranian “fast-attack” boats approached the blockade, they would be eliminated. He also said the US would not allow Tehran to “extort the world”, referring to Iran’s reported toll collection measures.
“Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED, using the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at sea. It is quick and brutal,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
