US-Iran were just one step away from the deal, why did the talks suddenly break down?

By Samira Vishwas On Apr 14, 2026

US-Iran Peace Talks: middle east To stop the war that broke out in 1979, peace talks were held between America and Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan, but no solution could be found. America’s Vice President JD Vance had reached Pakistan for this peace talks. Now a big revelation has come to light regarding peace talks. Vice President JD Vance has said that despite important talks held in Islamabad, the agreement could not be finalized because Iranian representatives did not have full authority to take decisions.

In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Vance discussed the internal aspects of the talks in detail. He indicated that the talks had moved in a positive direction, but the progress was not enough to reach a final consensus.

Why was there no agreement?

According to JD Vance, during the talks between America and Iran, progress was made towards reaching agreement on many important points. He said, “I wouldn’t just say that things went wrong. I think things also went right. We made a lot of progress, they moved in our direction, so we got some positive signs, but they didn’t move as expected.” He further said that “It is for the Iranians to decide what will happen next in the war.”

What was the reason for failure of peace talks?

Vance also said that a major reason for the failure of the talks was that the Iranian representatives present in Islamabad did not have the authority to take the final decision. He said, “We got some information about how the Iranians were negotiating, and that’s ultimately why we left Pakistan. What we discovered is that I think the team there was unable to negotiate. They had to go back to Tehran and get approval from the Supreme Leader or someone else on the terms that we set out.”

“We’ve made clear that we absolutely need to see the nuclear material come out of the country of Iran…the ball is in the Iranians’ court because we put a lot on the table.” – VP Vance pic.twitter.com/s4Ki2HqL4U
— Vice President JD Vance (@VP) April 14, 2026

What is Iran’s claim?

A different viewpoint has emerged on this development from Iran’s side. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed that both the countries were very close to the agreement. But the situation worsened when America announced the blockade of Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. In his statement, he said, “In the last 47 years, in intensive negotiations at the highest level, Iran negotiated in good faith with the US to end the war, but when we were just a few steps away from the ‘Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding’, we faced extremism, changing targets and blockade,”