U.S. Vice President JD Vance has announced the conclusion of an intense, 21-hour round of negotiations with Iran held in Pakistan, which ended without an agreement and with the presentation of what Washington describes as its “final offer.”
As explained by Vance, the talks included multiple substantive meetings between the two delegations, though without any decisive breakthroughs. “We have held several substantive conversations with the Iranians. That is the good news. The bad news is that we did not reach an agreement, and I believe that is far more detrimental to Iran than it is to the United States of America,” he noted.
The U.S. official underscored that Washington made its positions clear throughout the negotiation process. “We made it very clear what our red lines are—on which points we are willing to compromise and on which we are not. We made it as clear as we possibly could, and they chose not to accept our terms,” ​​he added.
At the heart of the disagreement, as he indicated, lies the Iranian nuclear program. “The simple reality is that we need to see a firm commitment that they will not pursue a nuclear weapon, and that they will not pursue the tools that would allow them to quickly acquire a nuclear weapon,” Vance asserted, insisting that this remains the primary objective of the U.S. administration.
The Vice President explained that, despite the duration of the talks, no verifiable, long-term commitment was secured from Tehran to forgo the development of nuclear weaponry. “The question is whether there is a real and lasting commitment that Iran will not develop a nuclear weapon—not just now, or in two years, but over the long term. We have not seen that yet,” he pointed out.
During his remarks, Vance detailed that Washington believes it acted with flexibility, yet acknowledged the lack of progress. “We believe we have been quite flexible and reasonable. The President asked us to come in good faith and make every effort to reach an agreement, and that is what we have done,” he stated, before confirming that the U.S. delegation is returning home without a deal.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Vice President explained that the U.S. delegation maintained constant contact with President Donald Trump’s team throughout the entire process, with multiple communications taking place over the course of the day. He also noted that the proposal presented to Iran constitutes Washington’s “final and best offer,” pending a response from Tehran.
