Vice President JD Vance held a press conference in Islamabad on Saturday evening, confirming that the United States and Iran have failed to reach a final agreement following intense, direct negotiations.
After more than 21 hours of talks mediated in Pakistan, the highest-level direct U.S.-Iran negotiations since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Vance stated unequivocally that the Iranian regime refused to accept America’s core demands and red lines.
“We’ve been at it now for 21 hours, and we’ve had a number of substantive discussions with the Iranians. That’s the good news,” Vance said. “The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement. And I think that’s bad news for Iran much more than it’s bad news for the United States of America.”
JD Vance: “The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement. And I think that’s bad news for Iran much more than it’s bad news for the US. So, we go back to the US having not come to an agreement … they have chosen not to accept our terms” pic.twitter.com/uqFnwVT76g
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 12, 2026
The vice president added, “So we go back to the United States having not come to an agreement.”
Vance, who led the U.S. delegation alongside special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, made it clear that the U.S. laid out its non-negotiable positions on Iran’s nuclear program, ballistic missiles, support for terrorist proxies, and full compliance regarding the Strait of Hormuz.
“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, and we’ve made that as clear as we possibly could,” Vance said. “Iran may have chosen not to accept our terms.”
When asked which terms Iran wouldn’t budge on, Vance would not provide specifics.
“Well, I won’t go into all the details because I don’t want to negotiate in public after we negotiated for 21 hours in private,” Vance said. “But 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. That is the core goal of the President of the United States, and that’s what we’ve tried to achieve through these negotiations.”
Despite the lack of a deal, Vance appears to remain optimistic that Iran will eventually come back to the table under the weight of American economic and military pressure.
The vice president noted that the ball is now firmly in Tehran’s court.
“The Iranians decided not to accept our terms,” Vance reiterated.
The vice president said that a firm, verifiable Iranian commitment to never develop a nuclear weapon remains a requirement for any lasting deal. Iran’s refusal to provide that assurance is what ultimately stalled progress, according to reports.
The talks in the Pakistani capital followed the announcement of a two-week ceasefire. The U.S. delegation is now returning home.
“The President told us, you need to come here in good faith and make your best effort to get a deal. We did that, and unfortunately we weren’t able to make any headway,” Vance said.
Trump warned of devastating consequences if the regime did not negotiate in good faith.
WATCH VANCE’S FULL REMARKS HERE:
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