The most closely watched diplomatic event of the weekend concluded without a deal. Direct talks between the United States and Iran, hosted by Pakistan in Islamabad, wrapped up in the early hours of Sunday with both delegations heading home empty-handed.
US Vice President JD Vance addressed a press conference acknowledging there had been “a number of substantive discussions,” but confirmed the two sides did not reach an agreement. Freshly printed newspapers across Pakistan carried headlines about the historic face-to-face engagement — a rare moment of direct US-Iran dialogue facilitated by Islamabad.
The broader context is sobering. According to analysts cited by Norwegian outlet Dagbladet, the Trump administration’s war against Iran has left “the USA and the world in a weaker position than ten years ago.” Rolling Stone offered a withering domestic assessment, describing an “unpopular war, skyrocketing gas prices, unsteady financial markets, a cabinet filled with sycophants,” arguing that the president’s missteps have led to “calamity at home and abroad.”
Pakistan’s mediating role turned out to be significant beyond diplomacy — it may have prevented a wider escalation, at least according to Turkish President Erdoğan, whose own incendiary remarks dominated headlines simultaneously.
