Direct talks between the United States and Iran, held in Pakistan, ended after 21 hours without an agreement. A primary reason for the failure was Iran’s rejection of the US demand that it not build nuclear weapons.
Marathon U.S.-Iran negotiations in Pakistan ended without agreement Sunday, aimed at extending a two-week ceasefire and tackling nuclear ambitions, plus Strait of Hormuz security. Iran refused to commit to forgoing nuclear weapons, leading to the breakdown.
Meanwhile, U.S. Navy destroyers USS Frank E. Peterson Jr. and USS Michael Murphy transited the mined strait without Iranian assistance, with underwater drones now joining to secure safe passage for global oil trade, which carries 20% of the world’s supply.
President Trump called the clearance a ‘favor to countries all over the world’ as tankers from China and Europe head to U.S. ports.
Vice President JD Vance said that “They have chosen not to accept our terms.”
“We’ve been at it for 21 HOURS. We’ve had substantive discussions…bad news is, we have not reached an agreement.”
“That’s bad news for Iran much more than bad news for the USA.”
The United States left Pakistan without an agreement after 21 hours of negotiations with Iran, with US Vice President JD Vance saying on Sunday (April 12) that Tehran had rejected Washington’s terms, including a demand that it not build nuclear weapons.
Vance said the outcome of the talks was worse for Iran than for the United States.
‘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,’ he said. ‘So we go back to the United States having not agreed. We’ve made very clear what our red lines are.’
He added that he had spoken with US President Donald Trump half a dozen times during the negotiations.
The negotiations in Islamabad marked the first direct meeting between the United States and Iran in more than a decade, and the highest-level contact since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Their outcome could shape the future of the fragile two-week ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for about 20% of global energy supplies that Iran has blocked since the war began. The conflict has driven oil prices sharply higher and killed thousands of people.
Iran, however, signalled that diplomacy was still alive. In a post on X, the government said the talks had ended and that technical experts from both sides would exchange documents.
‘Negotiations will continue despite some remaining differences,’ the post said, without giving a date for the next round.
According to a source from mediator Pakistan, Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi for two hours before taking a break.
Another Pakistani source said the opening round was marked by sharp shifts in tone.
‘There were mood swings from the two sides and the temperature went up and down during the meeting,’ the source said.
The Iranian delegation arrived on Friday dressed in black to mourn late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and others killed in the war, the Iranian government said. It also said the delegation carried shoes and bags belonging to some students killed during a US bombing of a school next to a military compound. The Pentagon has said the strike is under investigation, while Reuters has reported that military investigators believe the United States was likely responsible.
Security was tightened across Islamabad for the talks, with thousands of paramilitary personnel and army troops deployed across the city of more than 2 million people.
Pakistan’s role as mediator marks a striking turnaround for a country that was seen as a diplomatic outcast just a year ago.
As the talks got underway, the US military said it was ‘setting the conditions’ to begin clearing the Strait of Hormuz.
The waterway remains central to the ceasefire negotiations. The US military said two of its warships had passed through the strait and that conditions were being prepared for mine-clearing operations, while Iranian state media denied that any US ships had transited the route.
Before the talks began, a senior Iranian source told Reuters that Washington had agreed to release Iranian assets frozen in Qatar and other foreign banks. A US official denied that any such deal had been reached.
Iranian state television and officials said Tehran is seeking not only the release of overseas assets, but also control of the Strait of Hormuz, payment of war reparations, and a ceasefire across the region, including in Lebanon.
Tehran also wants to collect transit fees in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump’s goals have shifted over time, but at a minimum, he wants free passage for global shipping through the strait and a crippled Iranian nuclear enrichment programme to ensure Tehran cannot produce an atomic bomb.
Israel, a US ally that joined the February 28 attacks on Iran that launched the war, has also continued striking Tehran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and says that the conflict is not part of the Iran-US ceasefire. Mutual distrust remains high.
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