US and Iran end 21-hour ceasefire talks without agreement

ISLAMABAD: The United States and Iran ended a historic round of face-to-face talks early Sunday without reaching an agreement and the fate of the fragile, two-week ceasefire still unclear.

Vice President JD Vance, who led the U.S. delegation during the 21 hours of talks in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, said negotiations finished without a deal after the Iranians refused to accept American terms to refrain from developing a nuclear weapon.

There was no immediate comment from the Iranian delegation, but Pakistani mediators called on both countries to maintain the ceasefire.

“It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to the ceasefire,” Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said, adding that his country will try to facilitate a new dialogue between Iran and the U.S. in the coming days.

The discussions in Islamabad began Saturday, a few days after a fragile ceasefire was announced as the war that has killed thousands of people and shaken global markets entered its seventh week.

Vance said he remained in constant communication with U.S. President Donald Trump and others in the administration during the negotiations.

“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,” Vance told reporters. “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 vice president said he spoke with Trump “a half dozen times, a dozen times, over the past 21 hours” and also spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Adm. Brad Cooper, head of the United States Central Command.

“We were constantly in communication with the team because we were negotiating in good faith,” Vance said, speaking at a podium in front of a pair of American flags with special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to his side. “And we leave here, and 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.”

Two Pakistani officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the press, said a third round of discussions between the delegation heads had finished and the talks would resume after a break.

Then the U.S. vice president addressed the press, announced there was no agreement and went to the airport to leave Pakistan.

Trump had said he would suspend attacks against Iran for two weeks. Vance’s comments did not indicate what will happen after that time period expires or if the ceasefire will remain in place.