
Iranian and American officials offered sharply different accounts after marathon negotiations in Pakistan collapsed without a deal, with each side faulting the other for the breakdown and signaling continued tensions over nuclear demands.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran entered the discussions prepared to reach an understanding but was met with what he described as unrealistic conditions from Washington that ultimately derailed progress.
“In intensive talks at highest level in 47 years, Iran engaged with US in good faith to end war,” the Iranian Foreign Minister wrote, adding, “But when just inches away from ‘Islamabad MoU’, we encountered maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade.”
“Zero lessons earned. Good will begets good will. Enmity begets enmity,” added Araghchi.
From the American side, Vice President JD Vance confirmed that the talks, which stretched over 21 hours, concluded without an agreement after Iran declined to accept key U.S. conditions.
Vance stressed that the administration had laid out its expectations clearly throughout the negotiations.
“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’ve made that as clear as we possibly could, and they have chosen not to accept our terms,” the Vice President said.
He explained that Washington’s primary objective remains preventing Iran from developing nuclear capabilities.
Vance explained that the US demands “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’ve tried to achieve through these negotiations.”
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf echoed Tehran’s position, saying the United States failed to earn Iran’s confidence during the discussions.
Speaking after the talks, Ghalibaf said Iran had entered the negotiations emphasizing its “goodwill and necessary determination,” but pointed to lingering mistrust rooted in past dealings.
“My colleagues in the Iranian delegation presented forward-looking initiatives, but in the end, the other side could not gain the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations,” he said.
He added that the United States now faces a decision about whether it can establish credibility moving forward.
Ghalibaf added that the US had come to understand Iran’s “logic and principles,” and now faces a decision on whether it can build the necessary trust. “Now is the time for the US to decide whether it can gain our trust or not,” he stated.