Vance Says 21 Hours of Talks With Iran in Islamabad Ended Without a Deal

Vice President JD Vance said Saturday that 21 hours of face-to-face talks with Iranian officials in Islamabad, Pakistan, produced no agreement to end the war, and that the U.S. delegation was leaving with its “final and best offer.” It would be up to the Iranians to decide whether to accept it, he said, according to NBC News. CBS News reported Mr. Vance saying the Iranians “have chosen not to accept our terms.”

The U.S. team included special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, NBC News reported. Iran sent its foreign minister and the speaker of its parliament. Pakistan, which asked President Trump to pause attacks and brokered the ceasefire, hosted the talks, and its prime minister met both delegations, NBC News said.

Mr. Vance said the U.S. needs a firm, long-term commitment that Iran will not develop nuclear weapons, NBC News reported. President Trump said in a later statement, according to CBS News, that the talks “went well” and most points were agreed, but that “the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not.” Whether or not a deal is made “makes no difference to me,” Mr. Trump said, NBC News reported.

The Strait of Hormuz was the second major dispute. NBC News said Iran’s military laid mines in the waterway and Iran says no vessel may transit without its authorization, while the U.S. has begun clearing mines. CBS News reported that tolls on shipping were also contested, with Mr. Trump having urged Iran not to charge them. Lloyd’s List Intelligence reported that at least two vessels have paid Iran fees in Chinese yuan for safe passage, CBS News said.

Iran offered its own account. NBC News reported that state media blamed “excessive demands” by the U.S., and that foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the sides found common ground on some issues but had significant differences on two or three key topics. Iran’s president cited Israeli strikes in Lebanon as a major source of tension, NBC News said, and a U.S. official called an Iranian report that Washington agreed to release frozen Iranian assets “false.”

The ceasefire has not collapsed. Pakistan’s foreign minister urged both sides to keep it and said Pakistan will continue to facilitate dialogue, NBC News reported. Separate talks between Israel and Lebanon, mediated by the U.S., were due to begin Tuesday, according to NBC News.

The truce, agreed April 7, runs for two weeks, CBS News noted. With direct talks declared over by the American side and the nuclear question open, what happens when it ends is unclear.