The US‑Iran peace talks supposedly brokered by Pakistan in Islamabad ended without agreement after a marathon 21 hours of negotiations on Saturday 11 April, with the American delegation departing after presenting what it described as a final and best offer.
Vice‑President J.D. Vance, who led the US team, declined to disclose the detailed terms and said he would not continue negotiating in public after the prolonged private discussions, but he made clear that the central sticking point was Iran’s nuclear programme.
Vance insisted the United States required an explicit, long‑term commitment from Tehran that it would not pursue a nuclear weapon or the means to assemble one quickly, framing that demand as the core objective of President Donald Trump and the purpose of the negotiations.
He argued that Iran’s previous enrichment facilities had been destroyed and posed a rhetorical question about whether Iran possessed the will to forgo a nuclear weapon in perpetuity; he answered that question in the negative, saying the US had not yet seen such a fundamental commitment.
Vance characterised the US delegation as having negotiated in good faith, describing his team as “quite flexible” and “accommodating”, and said they had made their best efforts at the President’s instruction to secure a deal.
When asked whether frozen Iranian assets had been part of the discussions, Vance confirmed that that issue and many others had been raised, but said the parties could not reach a point where Iran would accept the US terms.
Iran, for its part, has repeatedly maintained it is not seeking an atomic bomb. Iranian state media reported that Tehran blamed what it called the United States’ unreasonable demands for the failure of the Islamabad talks.
Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB said the Iranian delegation had negotiated continuously and intensively for 21 hours to safeguard national interests, and that despite various initiatives from Tehran, the American side’s demands prevented progress and brought the talks to an end.
Press TV, Iran’s news network, reported that a range of issues were on the table during the talks, including tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, which remained among the points of contention between the delegations.
The article also recalled that the US and Israel had struck sensitive Iranian sites both during the war that began on 28 February and in the previous year, a context that underpins the deep mistrust between the parties.
Asked about contingency plans should the talks collapse or if Iran refused to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, President Trump said there was no “plan B”, asserting that Iran’s military had been defeated, that its missile and manufacturing capabilities were severely diminished, and that US forces had “hit them very hard”.
Taken together, the public statements after the Islamabad meeting underline a wide gap between Washington’s demand for an unequivocal, long‑term renunciation of nuclear weapons and Tehran’s insistence that it is not pursuing a bomb, with other strategic issues such as frozen assets and maritime security adding further complexity and preventing a breakthrough.
Agencies
