Vance Returns Home Without a Peace Deal as Negotiations With Iran in Pakistan Fail To Bear Fruit

Vice President JD Vance says no agreement has been reached between U.S. and Iranian officials in Pakistan after 21 hours of talks aimed at ending the conflict with Iran, blaming Iranian negotiators for refusing to commit to not seek nuclear capabilities in the future. Mr. Vance was dispatched to Islamabad on behalf of Mr. Trump after the president announced a ceasefire on Tuesday that led to a delay on striking Iran’s civilian and energy infrastructure. The vice president was joined by the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Mr. Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff at the invitation of Prime Minister Sharif of Pakistan. After negotiating with the Iranians for the better part of a day, Mr. Vance emerged to tell reporters that no agreement had been reached. The announcement was made just before 10:00 ET on Saturday night. “We’ve made very clear what our red lines are, what things we’re willing to accommodate them on, and what things we’re not willing to accommodate them on, and we’ve made that as clear as we possibly could and they’ve chosen not to accept our terms,” Mr. Vance told reporters during a brief set of remarks. Mr. Vance said that the Iranian delegation refused to make an “affirmative commitment” that they would neither “seek” a nuclear weapon, nor would they develop the tools that would allow them to build such a weapon. “That is the core goal of the President of the United States,” Mr. Vance said, flanked by Messrs. Kushner and Witkoff. “The simple question is: do we see a fundamental commitment of will (from) the Iranians not to develop a nuclear weapon, not just now, not just two years from now, but for the long term? We haven’t seen that yet. We hope that we will,” Mr. Vance said. “We just could not get to a situation where the Iranians were willing to accept our terms,” the vice president told reporters. “We were quite accommodating.”In a statement posted to X, a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, Esmail Baghaei, said the negotiations revolved around an end to sanctions, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the “nuclear issue,” and what he called, “war reparations.” Mr. Baghaei says Iran’s resolve is “firmer than ever before” following the American and Israeli strikes which began in February. “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,” Mr. Baghaei wrote. Mr. Vance says he was “consistently” in communication with Mr. Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during the course of those negotiations. He estimated that he and the other American officials in the room spoke to Mr. Trump somewhere between half-a-dozen and a dozen times. As he left the podium, a reporter shouted a question, asking if the military conflict will restart now that no agreement has been reached. Mr. Vance did not answer the question as he left the room. The vice president boarded his plane shortly thereafter and began the trip back to Washington. While Pakistan’s foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, who led the negotiations said it is “imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to ceasefire, the president said earlier Saturday that it “makes no difference to me” whether a deal is reached or not “because we’ve won.”Earlier Saturday, U.S. Central Command announced that it was beginning work to clear mines placed by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has insisted it keep control of the strait, passageway for about 20 percent of the world’s oil trade, in a post-war era. Its blockade of the strait has been its biggest strategic advantage in the six-week war that has seen its political leadership and military obliterated. Few ships have transited the strait since Tuesday despite Iran’s pledge to open up traffic during a two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan. Overnight, the president did not address the withering negotiation but posted an article on his Truth Social account referencing the potential for a naval blockade.Another key point of conflict is Iran’s demand that Israel stop fighting Iran’s “regional allies,” specifically Hezbollah, which is launching attacks on Israel from within Lebanon. The Lebanese government has not disarmed Hezbollah despite Israel pounding Beirut with airstrikes. Israel and Lebanese officials are expected to hold talks on Tuesday regarding Israeli strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, where the Iranian proxy maintains substantial support among the public.

Vance Returns Home Without a Peace Deal as Negotiations With Iran in Pakistan Fail To Bear Fruit

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