Vance says Iran rejected US terms and no nuclear deal was reached

Vice President JD Vance said Sunday that high-stakes talks between the United States and Iran ended without a deal after Iranian officials refused to accept American terms.

During a news conference from the Serena Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, Vance said Iran “has decided not to accept our terms.”

“The bad news is that we haven't reached an agreement,” Vance said. “And I think it's a lot more bad news for Iran than it is for the United States of America.”

The vice president said the talks with Iranian officials lasted 21 hours and described them as “substantive discussions,” but added that the United States was unwilling to budge on its “red lines.”

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“So we return to the United States, without having reached an agreement. We have made very clear what our red lines are, what things we are willing to accommodate them on and what things we are not willing to accommodate them on,” Vance added. “And we have made it as clear as we can, and they have decided not to accept our terms.”

Fox News Digital's Preston Mizell asked Vance if he had been in contact with President Donald Trump during the talks, and the vice president said he had been “consistently.”

“I don't know how many times we talked to him: half a dozen times, a dozen times in the last 21 hours,” Vance said, adding that the U.S. team was also communicating with other members of the Trump administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

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Vice President JD Vance walks with Pakistan Defense Forces Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, U.S. Embassy Chargé d'Affaires Natalie A. Baker and Interior Minister Mohsin Raza Naqvi after arriving for talks with Iranian officials in Islamabad, Pakistan, April 11, 2026. (Jacquelyn Martín/Reuters)

“Look, we were constantly in communication with the team because we were negotiating in good faith,” Vance said. “And we leave here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding that is our best and final offer. We will see if the Iranians accept it.”

Vance arrived in Pakistan early Saturday to lead high-stakes negotiations with Iran aimed at preserving a fragile ceasefire announced by Trump earlier this week and preventing a broader regional war.

Vance was joined by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, as part of a high-level delegation that brought together Iranian officials in Islamabad.

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Vice President JD Vance speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force Two at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport April 8, 2026, in Budapest, Hungary. The White House said Vance would lead the US delegation to upcoming peace talks with Iran and was in Hungary supporting Prime Minister Viktor Orbán ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for April 12. (Jonathan Ernst-Pool/Getty Images)

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf were negotiating over Iran.

While Vance declined to elaborate on what terms Iran rejected, he said the United States was seeking assurances that Iran would not develop a nuclear weapon.

“The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not pursue a nuclear weapon and they will not pursue the tools that would allow them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon,” Vance said. “That is the central objective of the president of the United States. And that is what we have tried to achieve through these negotiations.”

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The talks came more than a month after the United States launched Operation Epic Fury on February 28.

Fox News Digital's Preston Mizell and Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.