Iran-US Ceasefire Bid Fails As No Peace Deal Reached; US VP JD Vance Says 'This Is Bad News For Iran More...'

The fragile pause in the US-Iran war and ceasefire talks is under strain after 21 hours of negotiations in Islamabad collapsed, with US Vice President JD Vance saying Iran refused to give a long-term pledge never to build a nuclear weapon, leaving Washington's "final and best offer" unanswered.

The breakdown leaves the two-week halt in US strikes on Iran, earlier announced by President Donald Trump, in doubt as the conflict enters its seventh week, with thousands already dead across Iran, Lebanon, Israel and Gulf Arab states, and trade through the Strait of Hormuz still badly disrupted.

US-Iran war and ceasefire talks: nuclear demands at the centre of Islamabad stalemate
JD Vance told reporters that US and Iranian teams held "substantive discussions" in several formats in Pakistan but could not bridge the gap on Iran's nuclear ambitions, stressing Washington would only sign a deal if Tehran made an "affirmative commitment" not to seek a nuclear weapon or the capacity to build one quickly.

Standing beside special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, with American flags behind, JD Vance did not try to dilute the assessment, declaring, "This is bad news for Iran much more than this is bad news for the US," and adding, "We have made very clear what our red lines are...and they have chosen not to accept our terms."

US-Iran war and ceasefire talks: proposals, red lines and competing demands
Vance said Washington's 15-point plan, which limits Iran's nuclear activities and calls for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, remained on the table, while Iran's 10-point counter-proposal sought a guaranteed end to the war, compensation for US-Israeli strikes, release of frozen assets, Iranian control over the strait, and an end to Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Tehran's delegation, led in part by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, entered the Islamabad talks with what Araghchi described as "deep distrust" after earlier strikes on Iran during previous diplomatic efforts, and Iranian officials warned that Iran was ready to respond if attacked again while negotiations about the war and ceasefire continued.

US-Iran war and ceasefire talks: JD Vance explains limits of military pressure
The United States and Israel have already hit important Iranian nuclear targets, including during the war that started on 28 February and in earlier operations, and JD Vance accepted that much of Iran's enrichment network had been dismantled by force, yet argued that this would not be enough without a matching political promise from Tehran.

Vance told journalists, "Their nuclear programme, such as it is, the enrichment facilities that they had before, have been destroyed," then posed a broader question, asking whether Iran would show a "fundamental commitment of will" not to build a nuclear weapon "not just now, not just two years from now, but for the long term," saying Washington had not yet observed that shift, though "We hope that we will."

US-Iran war and ceasefire talks: US says 'final and best offer' remains open
After leaving Islamabad, JD Vance said Washington had handed over a document that, in US eyes, represented its most precise and comprehensive position, explaining, "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."

Vance insisted US negotiators behaved responsibly, saying, "We were quite flexible and accommodating and negotiated in good faith," while accepting that, despite this approach and many hours of dialogue, the effort had not produced the significant movement on core issues that Washington had been aiming for.

US-Iran war and ceasefire talks: Trump, cabinet and military kept in constant loop
The vice president said the 21-hour engagement involved frequent updates to Washington, noting, "I spoke with Trump a half dozen times, a dozen times, over the past 21 hours," and adding that conversations also included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper.

Two Pakistani officials later told the Associated Press that, despite the setback, heads of delegations planned to reconvene after a break and that some technical experts from both sides were still working, though both Pakistani sources requested anonymity because they were not authorised to brief media on the US-Iran war and ceasefire talks.

US-Iran war and ceasefire talks: casualties and regional fallout after seven weeks
The war's toll continues to climb while diplomacy struggles, with at least 3,000 people reported killed in Iran, more than 2,000 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and over a dozen in Gulf Arab states, alongside widespread damage to infrastructure in several countries tied to the US-Iran war and ceasefire talks and the wider regional conflict.

Iran's state-run news outlet reported that the three-party discussions in Islamabad, involving the United States, Iran and Pakistan, only began after some Iranian preconditions were met, including a reduction in Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah's health ministry has said the local death count has exceeded 2,000.

Location Reported deaths
Iran At least 3,000
Lebanon More than 2,000
Israel 23
Gulf Arab states Over a dozen
US-Iran war and ceasefire talks: Strait of Hormuz disruption and energy impact
The Strait of Hormuz remains blocked and contested, giving Iran strong leverage in the US-Iran war and ceasefire talks as global trade suffers, with only twelve ships recorded passing through the waterway since the ceasefire began, compared with more than one hundred vessels a day before the war, causing energy prices to spike and curbing oil and gas exports from the Persian Gulf.

President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the US had started moves to clear a route through the strait, and Admiral Brad Cooper of US Central Command stated, "Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon," with more assets, including underwater drones, expected to join the mission, though Iranian state media denied any joint command had approved such passage.

US-Iran war and ceasefire talks: Trump signals strikes may resume regardless of deal
In late-night comments, Trump told journalists, "We're sweeping the strait. Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me," a line that underlined uncertainty about whether US restraint would last once the two-week window linked to the US-Iran war and ceasefire talks expired, given the lack of a signed agreement in Islamabad.

The ceasefire announcement had promised a pause in US attacks on Iran for two weeks during negotiations, but JD Vance's remarks after leaving Pakistan did not specify what actions Washington might take once that timeframe ended, or whether any informal restraint might continue while back-channel or technical talks proceed.

US-Iran war and ceasefire talks: Israel-Lebanon front and regional diplomacy
While Islamabad hosted the US-Iran war and ceasefire talks, Israel kept striking targets in Lebanon, insisting no ceasefire applied on that front, a view disputed by Iran and Pakistan, and separate negotiations between Israel and Lebanon are expected to start in Washington on Tuesday at ambassadorial level, though Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam delayed travelling to the United States, citing domestic issues.

The Islamabad round drew quiet interest from several governments, with officials from China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar reported in the Pakistani capital to indirectly support the process, although all spoke anonymously to media outlets, reflecting the sensitivity surrounding the US-Iran war and ceasefire talks and the region's wider security concerns.

The Islamabad negotiations have ended without a final agreement, leaving Washington's "final and best offer" waiting for any Iranian response, while the war's seventh week brings mounting casualties, a blocked Strait of Hormuz, and a temporary ceasefire that may lapse if neither side adjusts positions on nuclear commitments, regional strikes and control of key waterways.