Iran and the United States have blamed each for the failure of talks in Islamabad aimed at securing a permanent ceasefire, with Tehran pointing to a lack of trust in Washington and the latter lamenting the former’s rejection of ‘non-negotiable’ terms.
Delegations from the U.S. and Iran deliberated for more than 20 hours in Islamabad, from Saturday afternoon until early Sunday morning, but were unable to secure any firm deal. The talks were mediated by Pakistan, with both states hailing Islamabad for its facilitation, and indicating further rounds of talks could place to resolve pending issues.
In a post on X, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, part of his country’s peace talks delegation, said Washington was “unable” to win Tehran’s trust during the discussions. “My colleagues in the Iranian delegation … put forward constructive initiatives but ultimately the other side was unable to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations,” he said.
He maintained Washington now faced a decisive moment. “America has understood our logic and principles, and now it’s time for it to decide whether it can earn our trust or not,” he said, vowing Tehran would not cease its efforts to consolidate the achievements of the six-week war.
Ghalibaf also acknowledged Pakistan’s crucial role in facilitating the talks and extended his regards to the Pakistani public. He concluded his statement by praising both the Iranian public and negotiating team, citing public support and the intensity of the discussions. “To my colleagues in these intense 21-hour negotiations, I say: well done … Long live and enduring be our dear Iran,” he wrote.
Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei further said no one had expected Tehran and Washington to reach an agreement in a single meeting. He maintained there was an “understanding” on several issues, but “differences of opinion” persisted on 2-3 important matters. “These negotiations were held after 40 days of imposed war and were held in an atmosphere of mistrust and suspicion. It is natural that we should not have expected from the beginning to reach an agreement within one meeting,” he added.
U.S. position
Earlier, at the conclusion of the talks, U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance said negotiations with Iran had covered a range of critical issues. “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,” he told a press conference in Islamabad. “So we go back to the United States having not come to an agreement. We’ve made very clear what our red lines are,” he added.
During his press conference, Vance thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir for their hospitality, acknowledging Pakistan’s efforts to bridge differences between Washington and Tehran. He said any shortcomings in the negotiations were not due to Pakistan, which had “done an amazing job” in facilitating dialogue.
To a question, he said Washington’s core demand remained an “affirmative commitment” from Iran that it would neither pursue nuclear weapons nor develop capabilities enabling rapid weaponization. “That is the core goal of the President of United States, and that’s what we’ve tried to achieve through these negotiations,” he added.
According to Vance, the key remaining issue was a long-term commitment from Iran. “Do we see a fundamental commitment of will for the Iranians not to develop a nuclear weapon, not just now, not just two years from now, but for the long term? We haven’t seen that yet. We hope that we will,” he said, regretting the two sides could not get to a situation where the Iranians were willing to accept U.S. terms.
“I think that we were quite flexible. We were quite accommodating,” he maintained, asserting the American delegation was consistently in contact with U.S. President Trump throughout the process.
The conflict, which began on Feb. 28 following joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting Iran’s leadership and infrastructure, has resulted in more than 2,000 deaths and widespread regional instability. Tehran’s retaliation has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, while and attacks on Israeli and U.S. bases in the region have raised concerns from Gulf states.
The two states announced a two-week ceasefire on April 8, with Pakistan playing a central role in mediating a suspension of hostilities. The two sides then exchanged respective framework for talks, which was followed by the formal talks in Islamabad over the weekend.