Vice President J.D. Vance said Sunday that high-level negotiations between the United States and Iran concluded without an agreement after Iranian officials declined to accept U.S. terms. Speaking at a press conference from the Serena Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, Vance said the talks—held over roughly 21 hours—were “substantive” but ultimately unsuccessful.
He stated that Iran had “chosen not to accept our terms,” and the U.S. delegation would return without a deal. “The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement,” Vance said, per Fox News. “And I think that’s bad news for Iran much more than it’s bad news for the United States of America.”
The vice president stated that discussions with Iranian officials lasted 21 hours. He described these talks as “substantive discussions,” but emphasized that the U.S. was unwilling to compromise on its “red lines.”
“So we go back to the United States, having not come to an agreement. We’ve made very clear what our red lines are, what things we’re willing to accommodate them on and what things we’re not willing to accommodate them on,” Vance added. “And we’ve made that as clear as we possibly could, and they have chosen not to accept our terms.”
WATCH:
🚨 BREAKING: JD Vance says the US delegation will return to America WITHOUT a deal with Iran, but that this outcome is MUCH worse for Iran than the US
“We've been at it for 21 HOURS. We've had substantive discussions…but the bad news is, we have NOT reached an agreement.”… pic.twitter.com/0TdvHT97OA
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 12, 2026
He added that his negotiating team, which included special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was also in contact with other members of the administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
“So, look, we were constantly in communication with the team because we were negotiating in good faith,” Vance told Fox. “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.”
Vance arrived in Pakistan early Saturday to lead crucial negotiations with Iran, which are aimed at maintaining a fragile ceasefire announced by Trump earlier in the week and preventing a broader regional war. The Iranian delegation includes Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
Although Vance did not provide specifics on the terms Iran rejected, he stated that the U.S. was seeking assurances that Iran would refrain from developing a nuclear weapon.
“The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon,” Vance said. “That is the core goal of the president of the United States. And that’s what we’ve tried to achieve through these negotiations.”
Trump sharpened his message to Iran amid crucial negotiations to end hostilities, cautioning that the country’s leaders are in a position of weakness while trying to exploit global shipping routes. “The Iranians don’t seem to realize they have no cards, other than a short-term extortion of the World by using International Waterways,” Trump wrote Friday on TRUTH Social.
“The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!” Trump added. The president also wrote “Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti Aircraft apparatus is nonexistent, Radar is dead.”
He noted further that Iran’s missile and drone infrastructure has been “largely obliterated,” along with the weapons themselves, and said the country’s longtime leaders “are no longer with us.”
