US and Iranian delegations have failed to reach a deal following lengthy peace talks in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Speaking at a news conference, US Vice-President JD Vance said that after 21 hours of peace talks in Islamabad, the US and Iran have failed to reach an agreement to end the war.
“We’ve had a number of substantive discussions with the Iranians, that’s the good news. The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement and I think that’s bad news for Iran much more than it’s bad news for the United States of America.”
JD Vance
Standing behind Vance at the news conference were President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and White House advisor, Jared Kushner and US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, who made up the US delegation negotiating with Iran.
He stated that the US has made its “red lines” clear, but Iran “has not agreed to our terms.” The US Vice President also expressed his appreciation for Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, and said “whatever shortcomings” there were in the negotiations, “it wasn’t because of the Pakistanis, who did an amazing job.”
Vance added that the US came to the talks flexible and “in good faith” but it was unfortunate that the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement.
“We leave here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding that this is our final and best offer. We’ll see if the Iranians accept it.”
JD Vance
Vance asserted that halting Iran from having nuclear weapons both now and in the future is US President Donald Trump’s “core goal.”
“The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon and they will not seek the tools that will enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon.”
JD Vance
Vance said that their nuclear programme has “been destroyed” but stressed that there’s a need for a “fundamental commitment of will” against Iran developing a nuclear weapon in the future. “We haven’t seen that yet,” he said, adding, “We hope we will.”
Vance disclosed that talks included discussions about frozen Iranian assets. “We talked about all those issues,” Vance said, as well as “a number of issues beyond that.” “We just could not get to a situation where the Iranians were willing to accept our terms,” he added.
He adds that Trump was involved in the talks and he spoke with the US President many times over the hours of talks. “I don’t know how many times we talked to him, a half dozen times, a dozen times over the past 21 hours,” he said. The US delegation left Pakistan shortly after Vance’s news conference.
Meanwhile, Spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmaeil Baghaei called on Washington to refrain from “excessive demands and unlawful requests” and to accept Iran’s “legitimate rights and interests.”
In a post on social media, Baghaei described the talks as “intensive”, but said that the success of ongoing negotiations “depends on the seriousness and good faith of the opposing side.”
Among the topics he said were discussed include the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s nuclear program, and “a complete end to the war in Iran.”
According to Iranian state media, “unreasonable demands” from the US “frustrated talks to end the war.”
An Iranian state broadcaster said in a post on Telegram that despite various initiatives from the Iranian delegation, the “unreasonable demands of the American side” prevented the progress of the negotiations. “Thus the negotiations ended,” it added.
Pakistan Urges US, Iran To Uphold Ceasefire
It’s unclear what the next steps are in the two-week ceasefire deal or whether more talks are planned.
Nonetheless, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister released a statement following the conclusion of peace talks, urging both sides that it is “imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to ceasefire.”
In the statement, Pakistan expressed hope that the two sides continue with positive spirit to achieve durable peace and prosperity for the entire region and beyond.
The post ends with Pakistan saying that it will continue to play a role in facilitating dialogue between the two parties “in the days to come.”
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