US Vice President JD Vance said on Sunday that his delegation left Pakistan without reaching an agreement with Iran after 21 hours of negotiations, Reuters reported.
“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,” Vance told reporters after the talks.
“So we return to the United States without a deal. We’ve made our red lines very clear.”
Vance cited shortcomings in the discussions, saying Iran declined to accept key US terms, including a commitment not to develop nuclear weapons. Shortly afterward, he waved to reporters from the steps of Air Force Two before departing Islamabad.
“We need to see a clear commitment that they will neither pursue a nuclear weapon nor the capabilities that would allow them to quickly obtain one,” he said. “That is the core objective of the President of the United States, and it is what we sought to achieve through these negotiations.”
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that what it described as “excessive” US demands had hindered progress and led to the end of the talks.
Earlier, Iran’s government said on X that discussions would continue, with technical teams from both sides set to exchange documents.
The Islamabad talks marked the first direct US-Iran meeting in more than a decade and the highest-level engagement since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said that while “an understanding was reached on some issues, significant differences remained on two or three key matters,” preventing an agreement.
He stressed that “diplomacy never ends,” describing it as a tool to safeguard national interests and noting that diplomats must fulfill their duties in both war and peace.
Baghaei added that the negotiations followed 40 days of what he called an “imposed war” and took place in an atmosphere of mistrust, making it unrealistic to expect a breakthrough in a single round.
He also highlighted the complexity of the agenda, noting that new issues—such as the Strait of Hormuz—had further complicated the talks.
Vance’s delegation included special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, son-in-law of Donald Trump. Vance said he spoke with Trump multiple times during the negotiations.
Iran’s delegation included Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.
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