Following more than 21 hours of negotiations in Islamabad, the United States and Iran failed to reach an agreement, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said. According to him, Tehran refused to accept the proposed terms, while Washington did not receive a “fundamental commitment” from Iran to abandon nuclear weapons development.
After the tense talks, Vance left Pakistan. The discussions did not lead to the signing of a peace agreement that could have ended the conflict, BBC reported.
“We had a number of substantive discussions with the Iranians, which is good news. The bad news is that we did not reach an agreement, and I think that is much worse news for Iran than for the United States. We simply could not reach a situation where the Iranians would accept our terms,” the U.S. vice president said.
He stressed that the nuclear issue remains central in U.S.-Iran dialogue, while President Donald Trump’s main objective is to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons now and in the future. According to Vance, no such commitment was secured during the Islamabad talks.
Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was not particularly concerned about the outcome of the negotiations in Pakistan, noting that Washington already considers itself the winner in this standoff.
“It does not matter to me whether we reach a deal or not. The fact is that we have won,” Trump said at the White House.
Trump reiterated previous statements, claiming that the U.S. had destroyed Iran’s air and naval forces as well as its leadership, and is now focused on ensuring free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. He added that Washington is acting on behalf of countries that are “either afraid, weak, or greedy.”
“NATO did not help us,” he said.
The trilateral talks involving the U.S., Iran and Pakistan began after a decrease in the intensity of Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon and the fulfillment of other preliminary conditions.
The Iranian delegation was led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf. It also included Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali-Akbar Ahmadian, Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati and several lawmakers.
“We have good intentions, but there is no trust. Our experience of negotiations with the Americans has always ended in failure and unfulfilled promises,” Ghalibaf said upon arrival in Pakistan.
During the talks, Iranian media wrote that the U.S. was putting forward “excessive demands” regarding the Strait of Hormuz and “unacceptable demands on several other issues.”
Shortly before the end of the talks, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said their success “depends on the seriousness and good faith of the other side.”
According to the Financial Times, the negotiations reached a deadlock over the Strait of Hormuz issue, with Tehran insisting on maintaining control and imposing fees on ships, rejecting options for joint control.
For his part, JD Vance described the U.S. position as flexible and accommodating.
“I think we have been sufficiently flexible, sufficiently accommodating,” he said.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar stressed after the talks that it is critically important for the sides to continue maintaining the ceasefire.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced that on April 13 the United States would begin a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. He made the statement on the Truth Social platform.
According to him, all ships will be prohibited from passing through the strait both toward Iran and other Middle Eastern countries, as well as into the Persian Gulf. He also noted that other countries have joined the blockade, Deutsche Welle reported.
Trump described Iran’s alleged failure to fulfill earlier commitments to keep the strait open as “global blackmail,” referring to mines reportedly left there. In this context, he reiterated his April 11 statement about starting operations to “clear” the waterway of mines.
“Any Iranian that fires at us or peaceful ships will be obliterated,” he stressed.
The U.S. president also said he had ordered the Navy to “search and detain any vessel in international waters that pays tribute to Iran” for passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump added that he does not care whether Iran returns to negotiations with Washington.
“I do not care if they come back or not. If they do not, that suits me,” he said, according to RIA Novosti.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces began enforcing a blockade on all vessels entering and leaving Iranian ports on April 13, in line with Trump’s directive.
The blockade will apply to ships of all countries and cover all Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. At the same time, CENTCOM stated it would not restrict freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz or in non-Iranian ports.
Iranian Navy commander Shahram Irani called the U.S. president’s statements “ridiculous.”
“Threats by the U.S. president to impose a naval blockade on Iran are absurd and meaningless,” he was quoted as saying by AFP.
He added that the Iranian navy is “monitoring and tracking all actions of the aggressive U.S. military in the region.”
Meanwhile, oil prices have risen again following the collapse of the talks. In particular, Brent crude for June delivery reached $102.50 per barrel at the opening of trading, compared to $95.20 on April 11.
