US-Iran war and truce talks: US Vice President JD Vance left Islamabad on Sunday after saying a peace deal could not be reached after 21 hours of the most significant direct talks between the United States and Iran in more than a decade, saying Tehran refused to make a long-term commitment to abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions.
Vance: ‘This is bad news for Iran much more than for the US’
Vance, standing on a stage lined with American flags, with special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at his side, did not soften the outcome. “This is bad news for Iran much more than it is bad news for the US,” he told reporters in the Pakistani capital. “We made it very clear what our red lines were … and they chose not to accept our terms.”
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The US vice president said the two delegations had “substantial discussions” across many rounds and in different formats, but failed to get rid of the central issue of Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
JD Vance articulated Washington DC’s demands by saying, “The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon and that they will not seek the tools that would allow them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon. That is the main goal of the President of the United States. And that is what we have tried to achieve through these negotiations.”
A nuclear impasse at the heart of the US-Iran impasse
The United States and Israel struck sensitive Iranian nuclear facilities both during the war that began on February 28 and in attacks carried out the previous year. Vance acknowledged that much of Iran’s enrichment infrastructure had already been dismantled by force, but argued that physical destruction alone was insufficient without a political commitment to match it.
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“Their nuclear program, such as it is, the enrichment facilities that they had before were destroyed,” he said. “But the simple question is: are we seeing a fundamental commitment of the will of the Iranians not to develop a nuclear weapon, not just now, not in two years, but long-term? We haven’t seen that yet. We hope so.”
Washington DC’s 15-point proposal includes limiting Iran’s nuclear program and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which the Iranian delegation called excessive. Tehran’s own ten-point counter-proposal called for a guaranteed end to the war, Iranian control of the Straits, and an end to Israeli strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The “final and best offer” was left on the table.
Vance didn’t quite slam the door. As he left Islamabad, he said Washington had left behind a document he considered his clearest and most complete position. “We’re leaving here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding, which is our final and best offer. We’ll see if the Iranians accept it,” he said.
He also insisted that the US negotiating position was reasonable all along. “We’ve been quite flexible and accommodating and we’ve acted in good faith,” he said, while conceding that there hasn’t been much progress.
During the 21-hour session, Vance said he was in constant contact with Washington. “I’ve spoken to Trump half a dozen, a dozen times, in the last 21 hours,” he said, adding that he was also in contact with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper.
A ceasefire hangs in the balance as the war enters its seventh week
The collapse in Islamabad seriously threatens the fragile two-week ceasefire announced a few days ago. Trump said he would suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks pending negotiations. Vance’s remarks did not provide clarity on what will happen when that window expires or whether the ceasefire will remain in place in the meantime.
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The war, now in its seventh week, has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,000 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in the Arab Gulf states, and left permanent damage to infrastructure in half a dozen countries in the region.
Two Pakistani officials told the AP that discussions between the heads of delegation would resume after the break and that some technical staff from both teams remained at the meeting, though both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the press.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was part of Tehran’s delegation to Pakistan, entered the talks with declared “deep mistrust” following strikes on Iran during previous talks and made clear his country was ready to retaliate if attacked again.
Strait of Hormuz: still blocked, still disputed
Iran’s most effective strategic lever remains its constant grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s traded oil once passed daily. Since the armistice, only twelve ships have been recorded as plying the waterway, compared with over a hundred per day before the war. The shutdown sent energy prices soaring and effectively cut off Gulf oil and gas exports from the global economy.
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President Donald Rump said on Saturday that the US had begun operations to clear the strait. “Today we began the process of establishing a new passageway and will soon share this safe passage with the maritime industry,” said Admiral Brad Cooper of US Central Command. Other forces, including underwater drones, are expected to join the effort in the coming days. However, Iranian state media denied that any joint military command had authorized such a transit.
Trump told reporters overnight: “We’re going to sweep the strait. Whether we make a deal or not, it makes no difference to me.”
Iran’s red lines and wider regional stakes
The Iranian delegation arrived in Islamabad with its own assumptions. Tehran’s 10-point proposal demanded compensation for damage caused by US-Israeli strikes, the release of frozen Iranian assets and an end to Israeli strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, whose health ministry said the death toll there had exceeded 2,000. Iran’s state news agency said the three-way talks began only after certain Iranian preconditions were met, including limiting Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon.
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The stakes attracted observers from across the region. Officials from China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar were reportedly in Islamabad to indirectly facilitate the talks, though all spoke on condition of anonymity, according to multiple media reports.
What comes next: Israel, Lebanon and the ticking clock
Israel continued its strikes in Lebanon even as the Islamabad talks were ongoing, claiming there was no ceasefire on that front. Iran and Pakistan disputed this position.
Talks between Israel and Lebanon are expected to begin in Washington DC on Tuesday, although Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has postponed a planned trip to Washington, citing domestic circumstances.
The first round of negotiations is expected at the level of ambassadors.
