After 21 hours of secret talks in Islamabad, Vice President JD Vance gave a clearer picture of why talks with Iran didn’t work out. He said it wasn’t just that there was no agreement, but that Iran wasn’t willing to even consider the U.S. conditions. His comments showed a key point: American negotiators were ready to make some concessions, but not on important security issues.
When asked if there was any plan or agreement formed, Vance said they discussed many topics beyond Iran’s nuclear program.
But nothing led to real progress. Even though he said there was a lot of flexibility and honest efforts from the Trump administration, the talks hit a wall because Iran refused to accept the terms laid out.
“Jen, and we talked about a number of issues beyond that. And so certainly those things came up, but again we just could not get to a situation where the Iranians were willing to accept our terms. I think that we were quite flexible. We were quite accommodating. The president told us you need to come here in good faith and make your best effort to get a deal. We did that and unfortunately we weren’t able to make any headway.”
Vance: But we just could not get to a situation where the Iranians were willing to accept our terms. We weren't able to make any headway. pic.twitter.com/dkFLK85y9l
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 12, 2026
Vance also talked about how much coordination there was behind the scenes.
He mentioned that he was constantly in touch with the President and top national security officials during the talks. During breaks, they had many meetings with military and intelligence leaders, showing that the U.S. position was well thought out and not just made up on the spot.
In the end, Vance called the U.S. offer its “final and best” deal, meant to push Iran into making a clear choice.
The main part of the deal required Iran to commit to not developing nuclear weapons and to stop any programs that could help them build such weapons quickly. After 21 hours, Vance made it clear that no progress was made because Iran would not accept those terms, and the next step was up to Iran.
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