Politics No agreement between the USA and Iran for the time being
The direct negotiations between the USA and Iran, mediated by Pakistan, came to an end early on Sunday morning without any tangible results.
12.04.2026, 05:42
SDA
According to US Vice President JD Vance, no agreement was reached during the talks in the Pakistani capital Islamabad. It was not initially known if and when further negotiations would take place.
Vance said that they were now leaving the venue of the negotiations and leaving behind a proposal for Iran that represented a final offer. According to journalists present, the US Vice-President boarded a plane to the USA in the morning. Tehran was not planning another round of negotiations, the Iranian news agency Fars reported, citing a source familiar with the negotiations.
After 21 hours of negotiations, the Iranian side had decided not to accept the US conditions, said Vance. The US had made it clear where the red lines lay and on which points it was prepared to make concessions to Iran. The US Vice President did not say in detail what exactly the sticking points were. He merely said that Iran had not yet shown a fundamental commitment not to develop nuclear weapons in the long term. "We hope that we will still see it." During the negotiations, he was in constant contact with US President Donald Trump, Vance continued.
Iran: success of the diplomatic process depends on the other side
According to Iranian foreign office spokesman Ismail Baghai, the negotiations focused on key issues such as the Strait of Hormuz, the nuclear issue, war reparations, the lifting of sanctions and an end to the war in the region. "Intensive negotiations" continued into Sunday. "Numerous messages and texts" were exchanged between the two sides, Baghai wrote in the early hours of the morning shortly before Vance's press conference on X.
However, the success of the diplomatic process "depends on the seriousness and goodwill of the other side to refrain from excessive and inadmissible demands and to recognize Iran's legitimate rights and interests," Baghai continued
Iranian media: Major differences in negotiations
Iranian media had previously reported major differences in the negotiations with the USA. The news agencies Tasnim and Fars spoke of "excessive demands" from the US side. Specifically, the Strait of Hormuz was named as a central point of contention. From Iran's point of view, this had hindered the progress of the negotiations.
According to Tasnim, the Iranian delegation insisted on the "preservation of military achievements", a possible allusion to the Islamic Republic's missile program. According to reports, however, the two sides had the biggest dispute over issues relating to the Strait of Hormuz.
The strait connects the Persian Gulf with the Indian Ocean and thus the major oil-producing countries in the region with the world markets. Iran has seized control of the strait since the start of the war. US President Trump made its opening a condition for the two-week ceasefire announced last Wednesday.
Historic talks
The talks in Islamabad are considered historic despite the lack of an agreement. On February 28, the USA and Israel launched a war against Iran. The Iranian armed forces responded with rocket fire and attacked targets not only in Israel, but also in the entire Gulf region. The conflict thus escalated into a regional war. On Wednesday, the USA and Iran agreed on a two-week ceasefire.
Vice President Vance led the negotiations for the USA in Islamabad, while Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf was parliamentary speaker for the Islamic Republic. According to the New York Times, the round of negotiations mediated by Pakistan was the highest-ranking direct meeting between US and Iranian officials since the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979. The newspaper reported, citing two high-ranking Iranian officials, that Vance and Ghalibaf shook hands. The mood of the meeting was initially described as cordial and calm.
Trump, meanwhile, said on Saturday afternoon (US local time) shortly before his departure for Miami that he was indifferent to whether an agreement with Iran was reached or not. "We win either way," he told journalists. "We have defeated them militarily."
Centcom: US destroyers pass through Strait of Hormuz
At the same time as the negotiations in Pakistan, the US Regional Command for the Middle East (Centcom) announced that it had begun a naval operation to clear sea mines. Two destroyers had passed through the Strait of Hormuz and were deployed in the Arabian Gulf, according to a Centcom statement on X. Trump said a little later that minesweepers were in action. A few days ago, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards had declared an area of the strait a danger zone and warned of mines in the shipping lanes.
Centcom also said that the mission was intended to ensure that the strait was completely free of sea mines. "Today we began establishing a new passage and will soon share this safe route with the shipping industry to promote the free movement of goods," Centcom commander Admiral Brad Cooper was quoted as saying.
On Sunday night, the Iranians rejected this. Reports about the passage of American ships through the Strait of Hormuz were denied, according to a statement from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards. Any attempt by military ships to pass through the Strait would meet with determined resistance. According to current regulations, only civilian ships are permitted to pass through. Earlier on Saturday, the Iranian navy had already warned US warships against transiting the Strait of Hormuz and threatened to attack them.
