High-stakes peace talks between the United States and Iran have collapsed after more than 20 hours of negotiations in Islamabad, raising fears a fragile ceasefire could unravel.
Delegations from both sides left the Pakistani capital on Sunday without reaching a breakthrough, each blaming the other for the failure to halt a war that has raged for over six weeks, killed thousands and driven up global oil prices.
US Vice President JD Vance, who led the American team, struck a blunt tone as he departed.
"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 reporters. "So we go back to the United States having not come to an agreement. We've made very clear what our red lines are."
According to Pakistani sources, both delegations have now returned home.
Vance said Iran had rejected key US demands, including a commitment not to pursue nuclear weapons.
"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've tried to achieve through these negotiations."
The Islamabad talks followed a ceasefire agreed earlier in the week and marked the first direct engagement between Washington and Tehran in more than a decade — and the most senior-level contact since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iranian media painted a different picture of the breakdown, with the semi-official Tasnim news agency blaming "excessive" US demands. Other outlets reported some progress had been made, but said disagreements over the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear programme proved insurmountable.
A foreign ministry spokesperson in Tehran said the talks took place against a backdrop of deep mistrust.
"It is natural that we shouldn't have expected to reach agreement in just one session," the spokesperson said.
Pakistan’s foreign minister Ishaq Dar urged both sides to preserve the two-week ceasefire agreed on Tuesday as efforts continue to de-escalate the conflict, which began on February 28 with US and Israeli air strikes on Iran.
Israeli security cabinet minister Zeev Elkin suggested diplomacy was not over, but issued a stark warning: "The Iranians are playing with fire."
Despite the high-stakes talks, Vance made no reference to reopening the Strait of Hormuz — a vital global shipping route responsible for around 20% of the world’s energy supply, which has been blocked by Tehran since the conflict began.
He revealed he had been in regular contact with Donald Trump throughout the negotiations. But Trump himself appeared relaxed about the outcome, telling reporters on Saturday: "We're negotiating. Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me, because we've won."
The US delegation also included special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, while Iran was represented by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and foreign minister Abbas Araqchi. Behind closed doors, negotiations were described as tense and unpredictable.
"There were mood swings from the two sides and the temperature went up and down during the meeting," a Pakistani source said.
Vice President JD Vance gives an update in Pakistan:
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 12, 2026
"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." pic.twitter.com/il4THN5DwV
Ahead of the talks, an Iranian official claimed the US had agreed to release frozen assets held in Qatar and other overseas banks — a claim denied by Washington.
Tehran is also pushing for control over the Strait of Hormuz, war reparations and a wider regional ceasefire, including in Lebanon. It has additionally demanded the right to collect transit fees from ships passing through the strategic waterway.
Despite the deadlock, there were tentative signs of movement. Shipping data showed three fully loaded supertankers passed through the Strait on Saturday — the first vessels to exit the Gulf since the ceasefire was agreed — although hundreds more remain stranded.
Washington’s core objectives remain ensuring free passage through the Strait and curbing Iran’s nuclear programme to prevent it from developing an atomic bomb — an ambition Tehran continues to deny.
Meanwhile, tensions in the region remain high.
Israel has continued strikes against Tehran-backed Hezbollah forces in Lebanon, insisting that conflict falls outside the scope of the ceasefire with Iran. Iran, however, maintains that fighting in Lebanon must also stop.
The Israeli military said it hit Hezbollah rocket launchers overnight, with plumes of black smoke seen rising over Beirut. Air raid sirens also sounded in Israeli border villages, warning of incoming rocket fire.
