U.S. and Iran Fail To Reach Deal on Ending War After Marathon Talks

“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 added. “That is the core goal of the president of the United States. And that’s what we’ve tried to achieve through these negotiations.”

A U.S. official told TIME that talks collapsed after Iran did not agree to several “red lines” set by the Trump Administration, including an end to all uranium enrichment, the dismantling of all major enrichment facilities, and allowing the U.S. to retrieve Iran’s highly enriched uranium. The official said Iranian negotiators also did not agree to end funding for allied militant groups across the region, and to fully open the Strait of Hormuz without charging a toll for passage.

Iran’s state-run Press TV said the talks had become stalled on the issue of control over the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran’s right to a peaceful nuclear energy program. The country’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said that Iran had raised “forward-looking initiatives, but the opposing side ultimately failed to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations.”

As the marathon negotiations were just beginning earlier Saturday, President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that the U.S. had started “clearing out” the Strait— a key waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil passed before the war began.

Reopening the Strait, which Iran has effectively blocked to tanker traffic since the beginning of the war, is a key U.S. demand in negotiations.

The Pentagon said in a statement that U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces “began setting conditions for clearing mines” in the Strait on Saturday. Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM, said in a post on X that two warships, the USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. and USS Michael Murphy, transited the Strait of Hormuz as part of an operation to establish “a new passage” and encourage “the free flow of commerce.”

A senior Iranian military official claimed the vessel turned back after receiving a warning that it would be attacked if it continued through the Strait, according to Iranian state television.

The talks between the U.S. and Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan, are the first since the war began with a surprise U.S.-Israeli attack involving hundreds of strikes on Feb. 28. They were also the highest-level in-person negotiations between the U.S. and Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

But Trump later downplayed the importance of the negotiations, claiming the U.S. had already won the war. “We’re sweeping the strait. Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me,” Trump told journalists in Washington, D.C.

Iran and the U.S. agreed to a two-week ceasefire on Tuesday to allow the talks to proceed.

Officials and journalists at the scene said talks stretched for hours into the evening, with delegations continuing discussions late into the night at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad, suggesting negotiations remained active.

Separately, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not reference the talks in a televised 13-minute address Saturday, but said the conflict was ongoing, telling the public that “the battle is not yet over.” He also defended the war effort amid growing domestic criticism, saying Israel had “crushed” Iran’s nuclear program, missile capabilities and leadership. U.S. intelligence assessments have raised doubts about the extent of that damage.

At least 1,701 civilians have been killed in Iran since the start of the war, including 254 children, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which relies on a network of activists in Iran to ascertain its figures. Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 2,020 people have been killed and more than 6,400 people injured by Israel’s bombing of Lebanon, including 357 in a single wave of Israeli strikes on Wednesday. Attacks attributed to Iran have killed at least 32 people in Gulf nations. Israel has recorded at least 20 deaths, and 13 American service members have been killed.

Here’s what you should know about the talks.

Who took part in the talks?
Vice President Vance led the U.S. delegation to the talks, which also included special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Vance said on Friday ahead of the talks that he thought the discussions were “going to be positive,” but also warned Iran against trying to “play us.”

Witkoff and Kushner were involved in a previous round of discussions with Iranian officials in late February that ended without a breakthrough, as Tehran signaled it was not prepared to make concessions on its nuclear program.

Their continued central role in the negotiations has prompted criticism from veteran diplomats, who say the administration has leaned on trusted allies with business ties instead of experienced foreign policy professionals.

Also in the U.S. delegation were Andrew Baker, deputy national security adviser to the president and national security adviser to the vice president, and Michael Vance, special advisor to the vice president for Asian affairs.

The Iranian delegation was led by Iran’s Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The Iranian delegation includes some 70 officials and experts from diplomatic, military, and economic fields.

Why is J.D. Vance leading negotiations?
Vance’s leadership of the U.S. delegation at peace talks in Pakistan, rather than Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has reportedly stemmed from his perceived status as one of the most vocal skeptics of the war within the Trump Administration.

Iranian officials told the Guardian that they were more open to engaging with Vance than with other senior figures tied to earlier, unsuccessful negotiations, including Witkoff and Kushner. Pakistan is also said to have encouraged the U.S. to allow Vance to take the lead.

Vance has reportedly been involved in discussions with Pakistan’s leaders ahead of the talks. Describing his role behind the scenes so far on Thursday, Vance said he had “sat on the phone a lot. I answered a lot of phone calls. I made a lot of phone calls.”

When asked if Iran had requested that he lead talks in Pakistan, the vice president said he “would be surprised if that was true.”

The outcome of the talks is expected to carry implications for Vance’s political future, including a potential presidential run in 2028; a breakthrough could bolster his standing, while a failed or inconclusive outcome could carry political risks.

Trump has dismissed that notion, however, telling the New York Post on Friday: “He doesn’t have to prove anything because he’s doing a very good job.”

What does Iran want from the talks?
Iran released a 10-point proposal for ending the war on Wednesday that officials say will serve as the basis for any end to the conflict, but many of its demands appear to conflict directly with long-standing U.S. policy and previous positions.

In it, Iran called for the release of Iranian assets frozen by the U.S., the lifting of all primary and secondary sanctions on Iran, continued Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz, the right to pursue enrichment of uranium for peaceful purposes, and an end to Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

Israel killed more than 350 people in Lebanon on Wednesday, a day after the U.S.-Iran ceasefire was announced. A third of those killed were women and children, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

Trump initially described the Iranian framework as “a workable basis on which to negotiate” an end to the war. But a White House official told the New York Times that the demands in the 10-point plan released by Iran were not the same as those Trump was referencing.

What does the U.S. want, and what has Donald Trump said?
U.S. officials put forward their own 15-point proposal aimed at ending the conflict that includes significant curbs on Iran’s military and nuclear capabilities, while addressing regional security and maritime concerns.

The plan, delivered to Iranian officials through Pakistani intermediaries, also calls for the reopening of the Strait.

The Strait of Hormuz has become a key strategic battleground in the Iran war. Blocking vast amounts of oil from passing through the narrow maritime corridor has allowed Iran to impose a financial cost on the U.S. and its oil-producing Gulf allies, and the global market, giving it leverage in a war in which it has been outgunned militarily.

Trump has referenced the plan publicly, claiming that Iran has already agreed to parts of it, although it remains unclear how extensively the proposal has been reviewed or accepted by Iranian leadership.