JD Vance says ’21-hour US-Iran talks end without deal’, thanks Pakistan for efforts

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar stressed on Sunday that the United States and Iran should continue to uphold their commitment to the ceasefire as negotiations ended without a deal.

“It is imperative that the parties continue to honor their commitment to the ceasefire,” Dar said at a news conference as US Vice President Vance departed this morning after announcing the conclusion of talks without any results.

Dar expressed deep gratitude to Iran and the United States for responding to Prime Minister Shehbaz’s call for an immediate ceasefire in the region and accepting the invitation to hold peace talks in Islamabad.

He further expressed his gratitude to both sides for appreciating Pakistan’s efforts in helping achieve the ceasefire and its role as mediator.

Dar said, “Together with the Chief of Defense Force and Chief of Army Staff, Field Marshal Asim Munir, I helped mediate several rounds of intense and constructive negotiations between the two sides, which continued over the last 24 hours and concluded this morning.

He said Pakistan hopes that both sides will continue in a positive spirit to achieve lasting peace and prosperity in the entire region and beyond.

“Pakistan has played and will continue to play its role in facilitating engagement and dialogue between Iran and the United States in the days to come,” he added.

Earlier, US Vice President JD Vance left Pakistan after announcing that intensive talks with Iran did not result in a deal, but he appreciated Pakistan’s efforts.

“We have been working on this for 21 hours and we have had a number of substantive discussions with the Iranians. That is the good news. The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that is bad news for Iran much more than for the United States of America,” he said at a press conference in Islamabad.

Vance also appreciated Prime Minister Shehbaz and CDF Marshal Munir, saying: “Both incredible hosts, and whatever shortcomings the negotiations had, it was not thanks to the Pakistanis who did an incredible job and really tried to help us and the Iranians bridge the gap and reach an agreement.”

He said the simple fact was that there needed to be a clear and affirmative commitment that they would not seek to acquire a nuclear weapon, nor would they seek the tools that would enable them to rapidly develop one.

“That’s the main goal of the president of the United States, and that’s what we’ve tried to achieve through these negotiations. Again, their nuclear programs, such as they are, the enrichment facilities that they had – that they had before, have been destroyed,” he added.

The US vice president said the United States had made its red lines clear, making clear what it was willing to accept and what it was not. “We made it as clear as possible, and they chose not to accept our terms.”

Vance further stated that he spoke with President Trump up to a dozen times during the talks. “We were talking to the president regularly. I don’t know how many times we talked to him – a half dozen times, a dozen times in the last 21 hours. We obviously also talked to Admiral Cooper, Pete, Marco, the entire national security team. We talked to Scott Bissett several times,” he said.

He said they were in constant communication with the team and negotiating in good faith, saying, “We leave here, and we leave here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding that is our final and best offer.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz announced that Iran and the United States, along with their allies, had agreed to an immediate ceasefire “everywhere, including Lebanon,” effective immediately. The Prime Minister invited delegations from both countries to Islamabad to negotiate a successful settlement.

The day before, the American and Iranian delegations had arrived in Pakistan to reach a conclusive agreement. Prime Minister Shehbaz held a meeting with the delegations and affirmed Pakistan’s sincere determination to continue its mediating role.

The Iranian delegation was led by President Bagher Ghalibaf and assisted by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, while the US delegation was led by Vice President JD Vance, accompanied by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

The United States and Israel launched a joint offensive against Iran on February 28, killing thousands of people in Iran, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and injuring tens of thousands, including civilian areas including residential buildings and religious sites.

The conflict has also expanded geographically. Iran responded with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel as well as Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries hosting US military assets. It also restricted the movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

To ease tensions, Pakistan also hosted a quadrilateral meeting of foreign ministers in Islamabad, with representatives from Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The meeting attracted worldwide attention and was widely appreciated for Pakistan’s efforts.

Pakistan and China also jointly proposed a five-point initiative aimed at restoring peace and stability in the Gulf and the entire Middle East.