Islamabad, April 12- US Vice President J.D. Vance said both the US and Iran “had a number of substantive discussions that’s the good news. 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 USA,.”
“We have made very clear what our red lines are, what things we are willing to accommodate them on and what things we are not willing to accommodate them on,” Vance said, adding that the Iranian delegation had “chosen not to accept our terms”.
Vance began the press conference by appreciating Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, saying that they were “incredible hosts”.
He also clarified that “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”.
When the US vice president was asked to elaborate on what the Iranians had rejected, he began by saying: “I won’t go into all the details because I don’t want to negotiate in public after we have negotiated for 21 hours in private. But the simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek nuclear weapons and that they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon.”
That, he said, was the “core goal of the US president, and that’s what we have tried to achieve through these negotiations”.
Vance added that while Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities had been “destroyed”, the “simple question is: do we see a fundamental commitment of will for 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,” he said.
Vance was also asked whether Iranian frozen assets were discussed during the negotiations.
“We talked about all those issues, and we talked about a number of issues beyond that. And so, certainly those things came up. But again, we just could not get to a situation where the Iranians were willing to accept our terms.”
He added that he believed the US delegates were “quite flexible” and “accommodating”.
US President Donald Trump, he said, had told the delegates that they need to “come here in good faith and make your best effort to get a deal”.
“We did that. And unfortunately, we were unable to make any headway,” Vance said.
Lastly, the US vice president was asked how frequently the American delegates had been communicating with Trump throughout the negotiations.
Vance said they had been talking to Trump consistently, besides other top US officials.
“We were constantly communicating with the team because we were negotiating in good faith. And we leave here with a very simple proposal: a method of understanding that is our final and best offer. We will see if the Iranians accept it,” he said.
Iran’s Statement
The Spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmaeil Baqaei, wrote on X that it “was a busy and long day for the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Islamabad”, during which “numerous messages and texts have been exchanged between the two sides.”
“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.”
Baqaei also expressed appreciation to the “government and the warm-hearted and noble people of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for hosting the negotiations and their benevolent efforts in advancing this process”.
In a separate statement carried by Iran’s Mehr news agency, Baqaei maintained that the negotiations were taking place after “40 days of the imposed war”.
“It is natural, from the beginning, we should not have expected to reach an agreement within a single session. No one had such an expectation either,” he was quoted as saying.
He added that the delegations reached “understanding” on several issues; however, he stated that “on 2-3 important issues, views were far apart, and ultimately, the talks did not lead to an agreement”.
He further stated the negotiations lasted for “a total of 24 or 25 hours and highlighted that another point of contention was “the complexity of the issues and the circumstances”.
He held that during the negotiations, “some new issues, such as the issue of the Strait of Hormuz, were added”.
“Each of these has its own complexity,” Mehr quoted Baqaei as saying.
“Under any circumstances, we in the diplomatic apparatus must pursue the rights and interests of the Iranian people,” he added.
The trilateral talks, which commenced on Saturday afternoon, saw the US and Iranian delegations engage in discussions over three sessions, with teams of experts from the two parties exchanging written texts after each session.
The Iranian government said in a post on X that the talks were held at the “expert-level stage as economic, military, legal, and nuclear committees joined”.
The talks took place during a two-week ceasefire in the US-Israeli war against Iran that began with US-Israeli attacks on February 28. The conflict, which spread across the Middle East and sent shockwaves through global economies, paused after Pakistan brokered a temporary ceasefire on April 8.
Delegations from both countries arrived in Islamabad for the negotiations on Saturday.
The US delegation led by VP Vance was accompanied by President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
The Iranian delegation was led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and also included Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, along with other leaders.
In a post on X, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had said that Iran’s delegation remained “fully committed” to safeguarding the country’s interests.
He expressed hope that the delegation would “negotiate courageously”. He added that regardless of the outcome of the negotiations, the government will “stand by its people”.
PM Shehbaz meets Iranian delegation
Prior to the talks, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held separate meetings with delegations from the United States and Iran.
PM Shehbaz held a meeting with the Iranian delegation at the Islamabad Talks today, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement
“Appreciating Iran’s engagement in the Islamabad Talks, the prime minister affirmed Pakistan’s sincere resolve to continue playing its role as a mediator to help build momentum towards achieving meaningful results in the interest of regional and global peace and stability,” PMO stated.
Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Interior Minister Mohsin Raza Naqvi attended the meeting from the Pakistani side.
US, Iran delegations depart Islamabad; both sides reached understanding on several points, but “views far apart” on two to three issues.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar urged the United States and Iran to remain committed to a ceasefire after both countries ended historic face-to-face talks without an agreement on Sunday.
“It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to the ceasefire,” Dar said in a press conference following the conclusion of the 21-hour marathon talks.
Dar expressed Pakistan’s readiness to continue to play its role to “facilitate engagement and dialogue” between the US and Iran
He hoped that both sides would “continue with the positive spirit to achieve durable peace and prosperity for the entire region and beyond”.
The foreign minister also thanked Iran and the US for following through on the ceasefire call by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and accepting the invitation for the Islamabad Talks.
Dar stated that he, along with Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, “helped mediate several rounds of intense and constructive negotiations between the two sides, that continued through the last 24 hours and ended this morning”.
The US and Iranian delegations departed Pakistan Sunday morning following conclusion of the talks which began Saturday afternoon, after US Vice President JD Vance in a press conference announced that talks with Iran had failed to reach an agreement.
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