April 12, 2026. US Vice President JD Vance left Islamabad on Sunday after talks with Iran ended without a deal, saying he has put forward a “final and best offer”. While the other negotiating party, Iran's Foreign Ministry said the two sides have agreed on a number of points, and it is natural that no agreement could be reached in a day.

US vice president and head of delegation JD Vance told reporters that after 21 hours of substantive discussions, there is both good and bad news. The positive takeaway is that the talks were serious and detailed. However, the unfortunate part is that we are returning to the United States without reaching an agreement. We were very clear about our red lines, the areas where we were willing to show flexibility, and the issues on which we could not compromise. We communicated our position as clearly as possible, but the other side chose not to accept our terms.

Our primary concern remains ensuring a firm and verifiable commitment that Iran will not pursue nuclear weapons. The enrichment facilities that previously existed have already been destroyed, but what matters now is whether there is a genuine long-term commitment from Iran not to restart or continue developing such capabilities. We discussed a wide range of issues and approached the negotiations in good faith. We were flexible and accommodative wherever possible. However, we could not agree to a situation in which Iran was unwilling to accept the core conditions we had laid out. The President instructed us to make every sincere effort to reach an understanding, and we did exactly that, told Vance

It came as a surprise when JD Vance left so quickly after negotiations concluded. There had been anticipation that talks would resume at around 09:00 GMT, but Vance made a press statement saying there was no deal and shortly after left the country. One of the key sticking points was the US unwillingness to make any commitment on halting Israeli aggression against Lebanon. The US terms regarding security in the Strait of Hormuz were also deemed unacceptable by Iran. Those sticking points ultimately became the central obstacle. The breakdown comes against the backdrop of the indiscriminate bombing of Beirut, in which hundreds of people were killed and which drew widespread international condemnation widely seen as a breach of the ceasefire. The ball is now in Washington’s court, and all eyes will be on what Donald Trump has to say about the fate of these talks, media reported.

The high-level negotiations held in Islamabad on April 11, 2026 aimed at ending the Iran-US conflict, the following leaders and officials were part of the talks: United States Delegation led by Vice President JD Vance, Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Businessman and son-in-law of President Donald Trump Jared Kushner. 

On the other Iranian Delegation led by Parliament Speaker. Mohammad Bagher Ghali, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati, Ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam. Pakistan, which hosted and facilitated the process included Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Army chief Asim Munir, Foreign Minister Mohd Ishaq Dar.

On US Vice President JD Vance's statement, the agency quoted Assistant Professor at Isfahan University, Mohsen Farkhani, as saying, "... This is not bad news for Iran. We expected it. That's why I'm saying that we have entered these negotiations with deep distrust... This is bad news for the US because they are going to lose more. They couldn't achieve any of their targets in Iran. That's why they begged Pakistan to mediate these negotiations. Therefore, the Iranian team has realised that Trump's team is not really serious with these negotiations." On US-Iran 'No agreement' peace talks, Assistant Professor at Isfahan University, Mohsen Farkhani says, "... The United States doesn't approach a country it negotiates with in a spirit of goodwill because, in the American view, entering negotiations means being in a position of weakness. However, this round of negotiations had certain differences, and over the past 40 days of war, the United States had suffered damages in the region that are difficult to compensate for, which has deprived it of the ability to construct a narrative of victory. Therefore, the US needed to create a time gap to reset public opinion. But because the US also demanded red lines, what Trump could not achieve through aggression and even fake narratives of their defeated operations. Moreover, the US could not and would not stop Netanyahu, so he has imposed his will on US national interests. Given that the US governing structure is also heavily influenced by Zionist lobbies and that the Trump administration lacks the power to refuse the demands of these lobbyists, a genocidal Zionist regime, there is the possibility that we will soon return to war. That's the reason these negotiations didn't work out."