US, Iran fail to reach agreement after 21-hour talks; JD Vance says Tehran refused to accept American terms

ISLAMABAD: The United States and Iran ended a historic round of face-to-face talks early Sunday without reaching an agreement and the fate of the fragile, still unclear.

Vice President JD Vance, who led the U.S. delegation during the 21 hours of talks in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, said negotiations finished without a deal after the Iranians refused to accept American terms to refrain from developing a nuclear weapon.However, Pakistani mediators called on both countries to maintain the ceasefire.

“It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to ceasefire,” Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said, addingVance said he remained in constant communication with U.S. President Donald Trump and others in the administration during the negotiations.The vice president said he spoke with Trump “a half dozen times, a dozen times, over the past 21 hours” and also spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Adm. Brad Cooper, head of the United States Central Command.

“We were constantly in communication with the team because we were negotiating in good faith,” Vance said, speaking at a podium in front of a pair of American flags with special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to his side.In the past 24 hours, discussions were held on various dimensions of the main negotiation topics, including the Strait of Hormuz, the nuclear issue, war reparations, lifting of sanctions, and the complete end to the war against Iran and in the region,” he wrote.

“The success of this diplomatic process depends on the seriousness and good faith of the opposing side, refraining from excessive demands and unlawful requests, and the acceptance of Iran’s legitimate rights and interests.”Vance also praised Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, terming them “incredible hosts”.

“Whatever shortcomings were in the negotiations were not because of Pakistanis, who did an amazing job and really tried to help us and the Iranians bridge the gap and get to a deal,” he said.

Trump had said he would suspend attacks against Iran for two weeks. Vance’s comments did not indicate what will happen after that time period expires or if the ceasefire will remain in place.

“And we leave here, and we leave here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding that is our final and best offer. We’ll see if the 

“But the simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon,” Vance told reporters. “That is the core goal of the president of the United States. And that’s what we’ve tried to achieve through these negotiations