JD Vance admits 'bad news' after 21-hour Iran talks in Pakistan end without deal - as fragile ceasefire hangs in the balance
The US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire in a last-minute deal on Tuesday - but Israel's attacks on Lebanon have cast doubt over the agreement.
American and Iranian negotiators have failed to reach an agreement after 21 hours of crunch talks in Islamabad, JD Vance has said.
Listen to this article
The US Vice President touched down in Islamabad on Saturday morning to lead the high-stakes talks - which he said failed to produce any results after "Iran has chosen not to accept" the US' terms.
He was joined by special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner - where they came face-to-face with members of the Iranian regime as a two-week ceasefire agreement hangs in the balance.
"The bad news is we have not reached an agreement," Vance said in an update.
He added that the US had after an "affirmative commitment" that Iran would not attempt to develop nuclear weapons.
He said: "Do we see a fundamental commitment of will for the Iranians not to develop a nuclear weapon... for the long term? We haven't seen that yet."
Read more: Iran's supreme leader recovering from facial disfigurement and severe leg injuries, sources say
Read more: Ministers 'prepping for mass protests' as Iran war adds pressure to household bills
The US vice president added that various other issues had been covered, and argued that US negotiators were "quite flexible" and "quite accommodating"."
"But again... we just could not get to a situation where the Iranians were willing to accept our terms," he said.
He added: "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."
Meanwhile, Iran has said it has no plans for further negotiations and warned it is in "no hurry" to reopen the Strait of Hormuz - which some reports suggest was the biggest point of tension at the trilateral talks.
Hundreds of tankers remain stuck in the blockaded Gulf as they wait to exit during the two-week ceasefire period. Previously, Iran had vowed to reopen the Strait during the two-week ceasefire.
Ahead of the Pakistan meeting, Iran's Speaker outlined that a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of frozen Iranian assets are Tehran's two conditions for the ceasefire.
Earlier, the US and Iranian delegations separately met with Shehbaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, whose proposal on Tuesday helped bring about the last-ditch ceasefire struck around 90 minutes before Trump’s deadline on Tuesday night.
The US president had previously threatened to strike Iranian power plants and bridges and warned a whole civilsation would "die" if no agreement was reached by 8pm ET that evening.
But fears have grown the ceasefire deal could get torn apart as Israel has continued to unleash strikes on Lebanon, killing and wounding hundreds of people on Wednesday in its biggest wave of attacks yet.
Israel claimed the conflict in Lebanon was not covered by the deal and refused to agree to Pakistan's proposal.
On Friday, the US President said the only reason Iranians “are alive today” is to negotiate ahead of the Pakistan talks.
Writing on his Truth Social platform amid a shaky ceasefire, the US president said: “The Iranians don’t seem to realise they have no cards, other than a short term extortion of the World by using International Waterways. The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate! President DONALD J. TRUMP”.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif laid out the stakes of the talks in a state address.
He said: "The permanent ceasefire is the next difficult phase, which is to resolve the complicated issues through negotiation. This, as called in English, is a make-or-break phase."
Iranian media earlier that the US has agreed to unfreeze Iranian assets which could help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a claim the White House later denied.
Sir Keir Starmer has urged the US and Iran “to find a way through” after the failure of peace talks, as he also called for the fragile ceasefire to continue and warned against any further escalation.
The Prime Minister discussed Washington and Tehran’s negotiations with the Sultan of Oman after the two sides’ 21-hour session in Pakistan ended without an agreement in the early hours of Sunday.
In a readout of Sir Keir’s call with His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik al Said, a Downing Street spokeswoman said:
“They discussed the peace talks held in Pakistan over the weekend and urged both sides to find a way through. “It was vital there was a continuation of the ceasefire, and that all parties avoided any further escalation, the leaders agreed.”
They also discussed efforts to reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz oil and gas shipping lane, which has been effectively closed by Iran’s grip, sending energy prices soaring.
It comes as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed due to Iran "haphazardly" laid mines in the shipping channel, US officials have claimed.
The vital shipping lane for the world’s oil and was shut by Iran following the US and Israel's attacks in February. Only 12 ships have been allowed to pass through since then.
But US officials allege that “haphazardly” laid mines have left tankers at risk of being blown up while Iran is unable to locate all of the explosives, the New York Times reports.
It came as the US military said on Saturday that their troops “began setting conditions for clearing mines in the strait”, with two navy guided-missile destroyers conducting operations.
Trump told reporters as talks dragged into the night: “We’re sweeping the strait. Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me".