Vice President J.D. Vance said Sunday that high-stakes talks between the United States and Iran ended without a deal after Iranian officials refused American terms, speaking at a news conference at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad.
“The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement,” Vance said, adding that the negotiations lasted 21 hours and were “substantive discussions.” He told reporters that Iran “has chosen not to accept our terms” and that the U.S. would not compromise on its “red lines.”
Vance said he kept in close contact with President Donald Trump during the talks, saying they communicated “consistently” — “a half dozen times, a dozen times over the past 21 hours,” he said. He also said the U.S. team communicated with other administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
The U.S. delegation included Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Vance said. Iranian negotiators included Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, he added. Vance declined to elaborate on which specific terms Iran rejected.
Vance said the United States sought an “affirmative commitment” from Iran that it will not pursue a nuclear weapon or the tools to build one quickly, calling that the “core goal” of the president. The talks came over a month after the U.S. launched Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28 and were aimed at preserving a fragile cease-fire announced by Trump earlier in the week, Fox News Digital reported. Fox News Digital reporters Preston Mizell and Morgan Phillips contributed to the report.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
