ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Vice President JD Vance said no agreement was reached with Iran to end the six-week war that has rocked the Middle East, following marathon talks in Pakistan.
“We have been at it now for 21 hours, and we’ve had a number of substantive discussions with the Iranians. That’s the good news,” Vance told reporters in Islamabad.
“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. They have chosen not to accept our terms. So we go back to the United States having not come to an agreement.”
Vance said the US needed an “affirmative commitment” that Iran would not “seek a nuclear weapon” or the tools to build one.
“That is the core goal of the president of the United States,” he added. “And that’s what we’ve tried to achieve through these negotiations.”
Throughout the hours-long talks, very few details were made available — leaving the world to speculate about what would come from the past six weeks of war.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the United States’ airstrikes on Iran:
For weeks, the two sides have been far apart on negotiations, with the Iranians demanding total sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, the right to enrich uranium, no limits on their ballistic missiles program and reparations for infrastructure damaged in the war.
While the Trump administration’s top priorities are to reopen the strait to allow oil to again flow freely crushing Iran’s nuclear enrichment program to stop it from building a nuclear bomb.
“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,” Vance said.
“We leave here with a very simple protocol, a method of understanding that is our final and best offer. We’ll see if the Iranians accept it.”
The vice president said he was in “constant communication” with Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the all-night talks, saying they spoke about a dozen times.
Both Trump and Rubio were attending UFC 327 in Miami when Vance made his announcement.
It remains unclear whether fighting in the Middle East, which began on Feb. 28, will resume.
Vance ignored The Post’s questions about whether this meant the cease-fire is over and the war is back on.
Shortly before Vance’s brief update, the Iranians posted on X that they “will not forgive the heinous crimes” committed by the US and the “Zionist regime,” referring to Israel.
“We have not forgotten and will not forget the experience of America’s breaches of promise and malicious acts,” the nation said in a statement.
“Nothing can or should deter us from pursuing our great historical mission toward our beloved homeland and noble Iranian civilization. The Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to utilize all tools, including diplomacy, to secure national interests and protect the country’s well-being.”
They said discussions included the Strait of Hormuz, war reparations, the lifting of sanctions, a complete end to the war, and “the nuclear issue.”
“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,” the statement said.
“The heavy loss of our great elders, dear ones, and fellow countrymen has made our resolve to pursue the Iranian nation’s interests and rights firmer than ever before.”
The grueling negotiations marked the first time in more than a decade the Americans and Iranians were in the same room for talks — since the Obama administration negotiated the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Vance was joined by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner at the luxury Serena Hotel in Pakistan’s capital city, where they met with an Iranian delegation led by Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.
Israel and Lebanon have separate peace talks planned for next week at the State Department in Washington, DC.
Read the full article here
