The talks between the United States and Iran ended without an agreement after over 16 hours of closed-door negotiations, with US Vice President JD Vance citing setbacks, lack of progress and unresolved issues between both sides.
Leaving uncertainty over the ceasefire, Vance blamed Tehran for refusing nuclear commitments and did not share any details on President Donald Trump’s next move, who vowed to wipe Iranian civilisation off the map.
The US vice president, who never wanted Washington to go to war with Tehran, was tasked with a rare diplomatic role to helm the negotiations between the warring nations, but failed to secure a deal. He returned to his homeland without a breakthrough.
Vance, on Sunday (Apr 12), said that 21 hours of US-Iran talks saw “substantive discussions” but no agreement.
“We have been at it now for 21 hours, and we’ve had a number of substantive discussions with the Iranians. That’s the good news”, Vance said. “[The] bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that’s bad news for Iran, much more than that, it’s bad news for the United States of America”.
He underlined that while Washington made its red lines clear and highlighted the issues it was willing to accommodate, Tehran, however, chose not to accept the proposed terms.
“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. And we made that as clear as we possibly could, and they have chosen not to accept our terms,” he said.
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The US vice president said that, during the negotiations, Washington reiterated its demand for a firm commitment from Tehran not to seek nuclear weapons and the tools to achieve it.
“We just could not get to a situation where the Iranians were willing to accept our terms,” he said.
He stated that despite the US being very “flexible and accommodating”, the talks could not move forward.
“We leave here with a very simple proposal- a method of understanding that is our final and best offer. We’ll see if the Iranians accept it.”
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Vance’s ‘open hand’ offer before failed negotiations
Vance began his trip to Pakistan, signalling optimism as he offered an “open hand” to Iran if Tehran negotiated in good faith.
He said that the United States would “extend the open hand” if Iran were “willing to negotiate in good faith.”
Tehran, on the other hand, repeatedly threatened to refuse direct meetings with Washington if it failed to recognise its demands, including asset unfreezing and a Lebanon ceasefire.
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Israel’s push to continue fighting Hezbollah put the spotlight on the degree of events the United States had absolutely no control over.
The talks were reportedly clouded by confusion following conflicting claims, as some Iranian officials told media outlets that the US agreed to unfreeze Iranian assets held in Qatar before the negotiations began. However, the United States claimed that the reports were false, according to The New York Times.
The Iranian state media, then reported that the team from the US was “confused”.
It attributed the failure of talks between Washington and Tehran to “excessive US demands” and said that among the points of contention were various issues, including the Strait of Hormuz, nuclear rights, and others.
(With inputs from The New York Times)
