After 21 hours in Islamabad, peace talks collapse between US-Iran

US Vice President JD Vance says Iran refused to accept Washington's terms after marathon talks in Pakistan, as Tehran insists no one expected a deal in the first meeting

12 April 2026, 9:29am
by Juliana Zammit

2 min read

The talks, which lasted 21 hours, were led on the US side by Vance and on the Iranian side by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf

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The United States and Iran have failed to reach a peace agreement after high-level talks in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, in the highest-level meeting between the two countries since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

"The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that's bad news for Iran much more than it's bad news for the United States of America," Vice President JD Vance told reporters before leaving Islamabad.

The talks, which lasted 21 hours, were led on the US side by Vance and on the Iranian side by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf. Vance said Iran chose not to accept Washington's terms, adding that the US needed a "fundamental commitment" from Tehran to abandon its nuclear weapons programme.

"We need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon," he said.

Iran's Foreign Affairs Ministry pushed back on the framing, with spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei saying that nobody had expected an agreement to be reached in a single session. He said Tehran was confident that contacts with Pakistan and other regional partners would continue.

Pakistan, which brokered the talks and hosted both delegations, called on both sides to honour their ceasefire commitment and keep working towards a lasting peace. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar expressed gratitude to both parties for acknowledging Pakistan's role as mediator.

The talks come against the backdrop of a war launched by the US and Israel against Iran on 28 February, which has since spread across the wider Middle East. Iran carried out retaliatory attacks on Israel and on Gulf states hosting US assets.

More than 2,000 people have been killed, and both military and civilian areas have suffered damage. The conflict also triggered a global energy crisis after Iran restricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil and gas exports pass.

Juliana Zammit is a part-time staff reporter and social media journalist. She is current...