Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cast doubt on the prospects of the upcoming U.S.-Iran talks in Islamabad, telling radio hosts Friday he is “not optimistic” about a breakthrough to end hostilities.
Speaking on the “Cats & Cosby Show” on WABC 770 AM, Pompeo said he does not fault the administration for pursuing diplomacy but fears Iran will use the talks to buy time. “I think the world’s experience with Iranian negotiators is that they’re going to play for time, stall, try and drag this out,” he said. “I doubt President Trump will let that continue too much longer.”
The White House has dispatched envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, to lead the second round of Pakistani-mediated ceasefire talks. Vice President Vance, who handled the first round, remains on standby. Iran’s delegation, headed by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, arrived in Pakistan on Friday but has ruled out any face-to-face meeting with U.S. officials.
The talks aim to forge a longer-term deal to end the nearly eight-week conflict. A temporary ceasefire remains fragile; Trump extended it Tuesday, giving Tehran time to present a “unified proposal” without a fixed deadline. The first round of talks, the first in-person U.S.-Iran meeting since 1979, collapsed two weeks ago over disagreements on Iran’s nuclear program.
Compounding the uncertainty, Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, remains officially in charge of Iran’s military and nuclear program but has not been seen publicly since the conflict’s early days. The New York Times reported Thursday that Khamenei is recovering from a bomb attack, awaiting a prosthetic leg and facial surgery. Pompeo questioned whether anyone can truly speak for Iran’s military. “I’m not sure there’s anybody who can speak on behalf of the Iranian military in its entirety yet,” he said. “I’d be surprised if they would be any more reasonable than the previous negotiators.”
Pompeo, a longtime Iran hawk, predicted a similar deadlock Saturday but said he hopes to be wrong. “I suspect we’ll be back to blockade and trying to inflict more costs on the Iranians before too terribly long,” he warned. “I hope there’s a deal that makes enormous sense for the United States, for Israel, the Gulf, but I’m not optimistic.”
Still, he stopped short of calling the conflict a stalemate, arguing the U.S. retains leverage. “A stalemate is when both sides have a lot of cards... that’s just simply not the case here,” he said. “We still have dominance, the capacity to execute that dominance. I think the Iranians know that.”
As the talks begin, the question remains whether Tehran’s leadership can deliver a unified position. Reports suggest President Trump is growing frustrated with the pace of negotiations and may push for a swift resolution or escalate pressure. For now, all eyes are on Islamabad.
