‘Inconclusive Islamabad talks indicate US has again underestimated Iran’: Mehbooba Mufti

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday said that the inconclusive Islamabad talks once again show that the US has underestimated Iran.

Reacting to the US-Iran talks ending in a stalemate, Mehbooba wrote on X, “The inconclusive Islamabad talks once again show that 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?”

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“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.

Earlier, Mehbooba told media persons on the sidelines of a PDP rally in Pulwama that the conflict between Iran and the US-Israel alliance cannot be resolved overnight.

“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,” Mehbooba said.

She 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 said.

“The ceasefire is for 15 days. There will be some back-and-forth, as both sides have maintained a rigid stand so far. However, the illegal lapdog, which I do not want to name, wants these talks to fail,” she said.

She 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.