The United States and Iran did not reach an agreement at the end of the historic talks in Pakistan, but the fact that the two sides engaged in face-to-face, direct talks after hours in which the Pakistani side was shuttling between them marked a certain breakthrough in negotiations.
The United States and Iran failed to reach an agreement after 21 hours of talks in Islamabad, leaving uncertainty over the fragile, two-week ceasefire.
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After the historic talks ended, US Vice President JD Vance, who led the US delegation, called the talks "substantive" but said that Iran “had chosen not to accept our terms," which is “bad news for Iran much more than for the USA.” He added that he was in constant communication with US President Donald Trump.
The US vice president said that in the end they did not see “an affirmative commitment” from Iran “that they will not seek a nuclear weapon," and “that is the core goal of the president of the United States; that’s what we’ve tried to achieve through these negotiations.”
“We were negotiating in good faith,” Vance said, speaking at a podium with special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to his side. “And we leave here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding that is our final and best offer. We’ll see if the Iranians accept it.”
His comments did not indicate what will happen after the 14-day ceasefire initially agreed to by the US, Iran and Israel, but Pakistani mediators called on the US and Iran to maintain the ceasefire.
Iran’s delegation, led by parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, told the Iranian state television that it had presented “red lines” in meetings with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, including compensation for damage caused by the US-Israeli attacks and releasing Iran’s frozen assets.
Iran’s state-run news agency said the three-party talks began after Iranian preconditions, including a reduction in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, were met.
In one of the first reactions from Iran, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the talks fell apart over a “gap between our opinions over two or three important issues.”
He told Iran’s state TV that the Strait of Hormuz was among the topics discussed by negotiators, but he did not mention nuclear weapons.
After the talks ended, Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said, "It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to a ceasefire," adding that his country will try to facilitate a new dialogue between Iran and the U.S. in the coming days.