21-hour talks between America and Iran failed, Vance said – no agreement on nuclear weapons

Islamabad: US Vice President J.D. Vance said on Sunday that the talks held in Islamabad with Iran failed and despite more than 21 hours of tireless efforts, both sides were unable to bridge the gap of differences. Vance gave this information at a press conference after “important discussions” during direct talks between the two sides brokered by Pakistan. This was the first talks at this level between the two sides since 1979. “We’ve been working on this for 21 hours, and the good news is that we’ve had a lot of productive discussions,” Vance said.

He said, “The bad news is that we could not reach an agreement.” The US Vice President said, “We have made our boundaries clear about what we are willing to compromise on and what we are not.” He said that the Iranian delegation “has chosen not to accept our conditions.” Asked to explain what the main obstacles were and what the Iranians rejected, he declined to elaborate.

Vance said, “I won’t go into too much detail because I don’t want to talk publicly after 21 hours of closed-door talks, but the simple thing is that we need to see a clear commitment from their side that they will not try to acquire nuclear weapons nor will they try to acquire the means by which they can acquire nuclear weapons very quickly.” He said that the “main goal” of US President Donald Trump is to prevent Iran from acquiring “nuclear weapons” and “That’s what we’ve tried to achieve through these talks.” Vance praised Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, calling them “excellent hosts.”

He said, “Whatever shortcomings there were in the talks were not because of the Pakistanis. They did a fantastic job and really tried to help us reach an agreement by bridging the differences between us and the Iranians.” Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Bakai also confirmed in a message on X that the two sides could not reach an agreement and “several messages” were exchanged between the two sides.

“In the past 24 hours, various dimensions of the main topics of talks were discussed, including the Strait of Hormuz, nuclear issues, war reparations, lifting of sanctions and a complete end to the war against Iran and in the region,” he wrote. “The success of this diplomatic process depends on the seriousness and goodwill of the opposing side, refraining from excessive demands and unreasonable requests, and accepting Iran’s legitimate rights and interests,” he wrote.

Baqai also expressed gratitude to “the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and its warm-hearted people” for hosting the talks and for their goodwill efforts in taking the process forward.