A high-level round of negotiations between the United States and Iran ended without agreement after a marathon diplomatic session in Islamabad, Pakistan, even as a fragile 14-day ceasefire continues to hold following more than a month of conflict.
Vice President JD Vance confirmed to reporters that the 21-hour talks, mediated by Pakistan, produced no breakthrough toward a peace deal. Speaking after the negotiations, Vance described the discussions as extensive but ultimately unsuccessful.
Coming amid the temporary ceasefire, Vance said the extended meeting with the Iranian delegation was still meaningful in scope. He called the 21 hours of discussions “substantive.” However, he made clear that the two sides remained far apart on key issues.
“That’s the good news,” he continued. “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. So, we go back to the United States having not come to an agreement.”
According to Vance, one of the central sticking points was Iran’s refusal to make binding commitments regarding its nuclear program. He said Iran would not provide what he described as an “affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon” or pursue capabilities that could allow it to quickly develop one.
Vance did not provide details on specific proposals exchanged during the talks, but said the discussions also included Iran’s frozen assets and “many issues beyond that.” He emphasized that the U.S. negotiating team believed it had been flexible throughout the process.
“We just could not get to a situation where the Iranians were willing to accept our terms. I think that we were quite flexible. We were quite accommodating. The President told us, You need to come here in good faith and make your best effort to get a deal. We did that, and unfortunately, we weren’t able to make any headway,” he said.
The U.S. delegation included special envoy Steve Wikoff and Jared Kushner, who met with Iranian officials just days after Washington and Tehran agreed to a short-term ceasefire following escalating hostilities.
The negotiations were held in close coordination with senior U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Vance noted that Trump and Rubio were attending a UFC event in Miami during his briefing to reporters.
The diplomatic effort has unfolded against a volatile regional backdrop. The ceasefire followed weeks of conflict, but tensions remain high over unresolved conditions and competing interpretations of the agreement.
Early in the talks, disagreements surfaced over the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran initially resisting reopening the waterway until Israel halts strikes on Lebanon—an issue Iranian officials reportedly linked to ceasefire conditions. U.S. officials have maintained that Lebanon is a separate matter, while also pressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reduce military activity in the region.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who helped broker the talks, has argued that Lebanon falls within the scope of the ceasefire framework, adding another layer of diplomatic disagreement.
On social media, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei described the negotiations as “intensive,” noting discussions on the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s nuclear program, sanctions relief, and broader regional conflict resolution. He emphasized that progress depended on what he called the “seriousness and good faith” of the opposing side.
