Srinagar: PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday said the talks between Iran and the United States have not failed as it would take time to resolve their problems, and asserted that Tehran had taken a principled stand.
“I do not think the dialogue has failed. It is a complicated matter for which such a huge war was fought. If you think that this issue will be resolved overnight, it does not work like that,” Mufti told reporters after a party rally in Pulwama.
The US and Iranian delegations left Pakistan on Sunday after the two sides were unable to reach an agreement during their 21-hour talks in Islamabad to end the West Asia conflict, with US Vice President JD Vance citing Tehran not forgoing its nuclear programme as one of the key sticking points.
The PDP leader said Iran has once again “shown courage and stuck to its principled stand”.
“America wanted all the gains made by Iran during this war to be handed over to it. How can that be done? I am happy that Iran has stood firm and the US had to return empty-handed,” Mehbooba Mufti said.
The former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir said the talks have not ended yet.
“The ceasefire is for 15 days. There will be some back and forth; both sides have shown a rigid stand so far. However, the illegal lapdog, which I do not want to name, wants these talks to fail,” she said.
Mufti said the world, however, wants the dialogue to succeed and the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened.
“This has caused energy problems for the world. The prices of petrol and gas have gone up; the trade has been hit severely. So the talks must succeed and we all should pray for it,” she said.
In a related post on X, Mufti said the US President Donald Trump was being misled about what can be achieved through talks.
“The inconclusive Islamabad talks once again show the US has underestimated Iran. How could anyone expect that after such immense sacrifice, innocent lives lost, top leadership martyred, thousands of civilians killed, Iran would simply barter away its leverage?” she said.
“If Trump believes what couldn’t be achieved through bombardment will be handed over at the negotiating table, he’s being misled yet again just as when he was told Iran would fall in two days,” she added.
