Marathon negotiations between the United States and Iran in the Pakistani capital Islamabad have ended without a deal, after roughly 21 hours of talks that represented the highest-level direct engagement between the two countries since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. US Vice President JD Vance, who led the American delegation, told reporters on Sunday morning that Iran had "chosen not to accept our terms" and that the US had put forward its "final and best offer." "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," Vance said before departing Islamabad.
The core sticking point was Iran's nuclear programme. Vance said Washington requires a clear, long-term commitment from Tehran not only to refrain from building nuclear weapons, but also to forgo the technologies that would allow it to do so quickly — a demand Iran was unwilling to accept. Beyond the nuclear question, the talks ranged across a broader set of issues, including the Strait of Hormuz, war reparations, sanctions relief, and a comprehensive regional ceasefire. Iran has retained control of the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway through which roughly 20 percent of the world's oil and gas exports pass — since a US-Israeli military campaign against Iran began in late February, triggering a global energy crisis. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei acknowledged that on two or three key issues, including the Strait of Hormuz, "views were far apart," but noted that both sides had reached understanding on several other points. He stressed that no one had expected a full agreement in a single session.
The Iranian delegation was led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a former commander in Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, and also included Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the head of Iran's central bank — a lineup that signalled Tehran's seriousness about the process. On the US side, alongside Vance were Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff. Talks were held at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad's heavily secured Red Zone district, with Pakistan deploying over 10,000 security personnel to protect the delegations. Pakistan, which has played an active mediating role since the conflict began, was praised by both sides. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar urged both parties to uphold the fragile ceasefire agreed the previous week and to continue dialogue.
A significant complication throughout the talks was Israel's continued military strikes on Lebanon, a front Iran insists falls under the ceasefire agreement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected that interpretation, and Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon continued during the Islamabad talks, killing at least six people. Iran had conditioned its participation partly on Israeli compliance with the ceasefire, adding to the already deep mistrust between the parties. Analysts note that the mutual suspicion runs deep: Iran has not forgotten that the US under President Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal — known as the JCPOA — despite Iranian compliance, and that the current war began while nuclear negotiations were still underway.
Despite the deadlock, neither side has declared talks over. Iranian state media quoted a member of the negotiating team as saying Tehran sees no rush to schedule a new round, but that no changes to the Strait of Hormuz situation would occur until the US agrees to a "reasonable deal." Analysts suggest the failure to reach a framework agreement — rather than a final deal, which few expected — leaves the two-week-old ceasefire in a precarious state and keeps pressure on the global economy. Pakistan, whose diplomatic coup in hosting the talks has boosted its regional standing, has pledged to continue facilitating engagement between the two sides.