The United States (US) and Iran’s ceasefire talks, which the two countries were holding in Pakistan, ended early this morning without a concrete solution and an answer to the question of what will happen after the originally agreed 14-day ceasefire.
The US delegation, led by Vice President JD Vance, claims that Tehran has refused to commit to not developing nuclear weapons, leaving uncertainty over the fragile, two-week truce.
The talks in Islamabad, according to Vance, lasted 21 hours.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that it was “essential that the parties continue to respect their ceasefire commitment” and added that his country would try to facilitate a new dialogue between Iran and the US in the coming days.
Vance said that he had remained in constant communication with US President Donald Trump and other members of the administration during the talks.
“But the simple fact is that we need to see a resounding commitment that they will not seek nuclear weapons and that they will not seek the tools that would allow them to quickly obtain nuclear weapons. That is the fundamental objective of the president of the United States. And that is what we have tried to achieve through these negotiations,” Vance told reporters.
The US vice president added that the negotiations were conducted “in good faith” and that the US delegation was returning to Washington “with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding that is our final and best offer.”
The US delegation led by Vance and the Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf have been talking with Pakistan about how to advance a ceasefire that is already threatened by deep disagreements and continued Israeli attacks on the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, whose health ministry said the death toll had surpassed 2,000.
Iran’s state news agency said the talks began after Iranian preconditions were met, including a reduction in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon.
The Iranian delegation told state television that it had presented “red lines” in meetings with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, including compensation for damage caused by the US-Israeli strikes that triggered the war on February 28 and the return of Iran’s frozen assets.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran was entering them with “deep distrust” after attacks on his country during previous talks, and was ready to retaliate if attacked again.
