US-Iran negotiations: Vice President JD Vance says Iran chose not to accept terms as talks end after 21 hours
US Vice President J.D. Vance says Iran has ‘chosen not to accept our terms’ after a marathon 21-hour peace talk session ended without any agreement.
US Vice President J.D. Vance says Iran has “chosen not to accept our terms” after a marathon 21-hour peace talk session ended without any agreement.
Contrary to reports that the talks would continue into a second day, Mr Vance told reporters in Pakistan that he would be heading “back to the United States having not come to an agreement”.
“The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement,” he said.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“I think that’s bad news for Iran much more than it’s bad news for the United States of America.”
Mr Vance said the US was “very clear” about its terms heading into the talks.
“I won’t go into all the details because I don’t want to negotiate the public after I negotiate the 21 hours in private,” he said.
“But the simple fact is that 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.
“That is the core goal of the President of the United States, and that’s what we would try to achieve through these negotiations.”
He said the US wanted to see a “fundamental commitment” from Iran not to develop a nuclear weapon “for the long term”.
“We haven’t seen that yet. Hopefully we will.”
Mr Vance said the negotiation team was constantly communicating with President Donald Trump and his inner circle during the talks.
“We were constantly in communication with the team because we were negotiating in good faith,” he said.
“And we leave here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding that is our final and best offer. We’ll see if that is accepted.”
The talks were lauded as a historic moment between the two nations. The last time they met for direct talks was in the wake of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979.
The talks came as Mr Trump said his military was clearing the Strait of Hormuz — a claim denied by Iran.
The waterway, a major shipping transit point for fuel, is crucial to negotiations during a two week ceasefire agreement.
“We’re now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz as a favour to Countries all over the World,” Trump posted, adding that Iranian mine-dropping vessels had been destroyed.
The US military said two of its warships had passed through the strait and conditions were being set to clear mines, while Iran’s state media denied any American ships had transited the waterway.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that any attempt by military vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz would be met with a strong response’.
Only non-military vessels would be allowed to pass under specific regulations, the IRGC said in a statement carried by Iranian media.
Mr Trump had played down the importance of the talks before hand, saying “regardless of what happened, we win”.
Mr Vance praised Pakistan for hosting the talks and for helping “bridge the gaps” betwen the two countries.
