Future tense

Failed negotiations signal a protracted conflict, which plays into Iran's hands and could be trouble for the US-Israel combine

- BY SANJIB KR BARUAH

As US Vice President J.D. Vance climbed the steps to board a flight from Islamabad to Washington, D.C. on April 12, he looked quite weary. The negotiations had tired him—he had argued for 21 hours with the tactical Iranians. After all, strategy would come naturally to the people who popularised India’s chaturanga and introduced chess to much of the world. Vance might also have been wary of dealing with Donald Trump's mood—the president would not be happy with the failure of the talks.

Most important, he would have been thinking about what is next for the US.

There might have been a gnawing realisation that there was a miscalculation somewhere in the White House on Iran. Far from the expectation that a restive citizenry would rush to overthrow a clergy-driven dictatorial regime, the Iranians had rallied together and had been resilient among all the bombardment by US and Israeli aircraft. That the regime has not collapsed even after the top leadership was eliminated underlines that Iran had been prepared all the while.

And the fact that it continues striking targets in the Gulf proves that its retaliatory capability hasn’t been blunted.