Negotiations in Islamabad

By Abbas Araghchi

 I’m mildly comforted our large team of diplomats and scholars doesn’t have to go to Europe to talk to the Americans, and even more relieved that dumb and devious Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff will not be leading the small U.S. contingent, but they will be there. That’s a bad sign for us and I believe it’s also damaging to our adversaries, the Israelis, who Kushner and Witkoff to date have clumsily represented. Would you as an Iranian Muslim enjoy facing two ardent Zionists who have twice been in negotiations with us and instead of continuing the process attacked our country? They turn my stomach, but at least the Americans agreed to our request to send Vice President JD Vance who had told President Trump it would be unwise to strike us.

After the Americans and my comrades and our Pakistani hosts shook hands and chatted, I eased near Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, leader of our team and speaker of the parliament of Iran, and softly said, “Vance is better than the other two, but I don’t much care for him.”

“I’ll teach him to be less arrogant,” said Ghalibaf, a Revolutionary Guards veteran of many military and political skirmishes and a tough, outspoken individual. I, though a frank foreign minister, present my views in the polite and sophisticated way of a veteran diplomat.

The Pakistani delegation was led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir. Strangely, the Americans did not bring any Farsi-speaking translators. We took care of that. I speak English well but not fluently enough for critical discussions.

A few minutes into the process, Vance, sitting across the table from Galibaf, looked back and forth between him and me, and said, “We’ve got to get your nine hundred pounds of enriched uranium. That’s the most essential point.”

“You’ve destroyed all our uranium, Mr. Vice President,” said Ghalibaf. “President Trump repeatedly celebrated this momentous event last year.”

“Well, we don’t think we got it all. You’ve got at least part of it near Isfahan. You were very determined to protect that region when our forces attacked it last week.”

“Naturally, we counterattacked those who were, as ever, invading our country,” said Ghalibaf.”

In a short while, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who resembles a gray-bearded and bald JD Vance, said, “Iran is willing to stop enriching uranium for five years.”

“We’d need a ten-year cessation, at least, probably more like twenty,” said Vance.

Jared Kushner delicately reached in his pants pocket, retrieved his cellphone, and texted someone. Let me guess, it was either President Trump or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Anything you care to share, Mr. Kushner?” I asked.

“Can’t talk now,” he said, standing to leave the room.

A moment later Vance received a phone call and excused himself. Ghalibaf looked at me and whispered, “I wonder who’s in charge, Trump or Netanyahu.”

“Netanyahu,” I said.

When Vance and Kushner returned, Ghalibaf said, “We need the approximately one hundred billion dollars of our petroleum revenues that you stole.”

“We didn’t steal it, Vance said. “We deposited it to stop your terroristic activities.”

“Do you consider invading multiple countries, including my own, to be terroristic or charitable, Mr. Vice President?” Galibaf asked.

“Iran is the world’s most dangerous state sponsor of terrorism,” he said. Kushner and Wittkof nodded. Our Pakistani hosts looked impassively at Galibaf and me.

Vance cleared his throat and said, “We’ve got to get the Strait of Hormuz open before you destroy the international economy.”

“The Strait of Hormuz was quite open and operating efficiently before you attacked us,” I said. “We might be able to reopen the strait once you agree to remove your grievous economic sanctions and pay billions of dollars of reparations to atone for slaughtering our people and destroying houses, schools, hospitals, and thousands of other sites.”

“We did everything possible to limit damage to military sites and factories and other targets that supported your military,” said Vance.

We continued in this manner, minus a few short breaks, all afternoon, all evening, all night, and into the next morning. I assumed that Vance, Kushner, and Witkoff were calling and texting and receiving the same from Trump and Netanyahu, but one can’t be sure. Perhaps they had some alluring social contacts in Islamabad.

Please excuse my occasional wry remarks. Frankly, I enjoyed what I considered positive interaction. Both sides were putting key points on the table, but Vance evidently had to get back to Washington about twenty-one hours after arriving.

In English I asked him, “What’s the hurry?”

“We’re at an impasse,” he said, and we all stood and shook hands and agreed to talk again.

As his plane climbed into the Pakistani sky, we soon learned that Vice President JD Vance announced, “Iran chose not to accept our terms. I think the Iranians will learn we have a lot more tools in our toolkit than they have in theirs.

We’ll keep trying to resolves our differences, and I hope by means other than fighting.

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