U.S.-Iran talks end without agreement
Caroline MolloyNegotiations between the U.S. and Iran looking to turn a fragile ceasefire into a broader peace deal ended without agreement April 11, and President Donald Trump announced a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz shortly after.
The negotiations, held in Islamabad and mediated by Pakistan, lasted roughly 21 hours and sought to solidify a two-week ceasefire announced days earlier.
Points of contention included Iran’s nuclear program, control of the Strait of Hormuz, extending the ceasefire to Lebanon, and limits on Iran’s support for regional proxy groups, such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis.
Despite the impasse, Iran signaled it remains open to continuing the dialogue, according to its state-run IRNA news agency. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said his country will try to facilitate a new dialogue between the two sides in the coming days.
Vance: Iran has chosen ‘not to accept’ U.S. proposal
Vice President JD Vance, who led the U.S. delegation, said the U.S. had presented its “final and best offer” and that while a number of substantive discussions were conducted in “good faith,” the proposal had not been accepted.
“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. So we go back to the United States having not come to an agreement. We’ve made very clear what our red lines are, what things we’re willing to accommodate them on and what things we’re not willing to accommodate them on… They have chosen not to accept our terms.”
“The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon,” Vance added, “and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon.”
Iran says no one should have expected deal in single session
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman pushed back against the suggestion that the first round of direct negotiations was a failure, saying expectations of a quick agreement were never realistic.
“We should not have expected from the beginning to reach an agreement within one meeting” spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told Iranian state broadcaster IRIB following the talks.
