Iran and the United States held a marathon negotiation that lasted about 21 hours, but Iran said the talks collapsed without an agreement because the two sides failed to narrow differences on two to three key issues.
According to Iran's semi-official Tasnim and Mehr news agencies, Esmail Baghaei, the Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, said on the 12th (local time), "We reached mutual understanding on some matters, but the talks fell through as we showed differences on two to three major issues."
Spokesperson Baghaei said, "The negotiations proceeded in an atmosphere where the two sides distrust each other," adding, "It was realistically difficult to expect to reach an agreement in a single round of talks."
The talks continued for about 21 hours in Islamabad, Pakistan, from the 11th until the early hours of the 12th, but the two sides ultimately failed to find common ground. Iran placed the blame for the collapse of the negotiations on the United States. Tasnim said, "A common framework could not be established due to the United States' excessive demands," adding, "The Iranian delegation protected the country's rights and blocked U.S. demands." It also said the United States tried to extract concessions on control of the Strait of Hormuz and the removal of nuclear materials, but Iran did not accept them.
Earlier, JD Vance, the U.S. vice president who led the U.S. delegation in the cease-fire talks with Iran, said he failed to reach an agreement with Iran, ended the negotiations, and returned to the United States.