US-Iran Peace Talks Fail Over Nuclear Stalemate

By The Slate Bureau

Islamabad: The marathon 21-hour-long peace talks between United States and Iran came to a naught with delegations from both the countries leaving Pakistan without arriving at any agreement which could have ended the West Asia conflict.

With this, the ongoing two-week ceasefire could only be the lull before the storm as US Vice President JD Vance emphasized that failure to ensure a permanent truce was a “bad news” for Iran.

“We’ve been at it now for 21 hours. We’ve had a number of discussions with the Iranians, that’s the good news. The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that’s bad news for Iran much more than it is bad news for the United States of America,” Vance said, addressing media persons.

The talks failed over US seeking a commitment from Iran over abandoning its nuclear programme. “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 said.

Vance said that the US delegation in Pakistan was in touch with President Donald Trump and was clear about the red line.

“We go back to the United States having not come to an agreement. We’ve made it very clear what our red lines are, what we are willing to accommodate them on and what things we are not willing to accommodate them on. We’ve made that as clear as we possibly could, and they’ve chosen not to accept our terms,” Vance said. Vance made a brief appearance along with special envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner to address the media before leaving for the US.

On the Iranian nuclear programme, Vance claimed that the enrichment facilities that Iran had before, had been destroyed. And the US wanted a commitment on not developing a nuclear weapon.

The stalemate between US and Iran may have an impact on the ceasefire with markets already reacting to the news. However, it may be too early to consider the failure to arrive at an agreement as the end of efforts to restore peace.

While the negotiations have failed, both sides are still hopeful. News Agency PTI quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei as saying “diplomacy never ends”.

Vance also left with a positive note. “We were constantly in communication with the team because we were negotiating in good faith. We leave here with a very simple proposal: A method of understanding that is our final and best offer. We will see if the Iranians accept it,” he said, while talking to mediapersons.