No deal after 21 hours of Iran talks, says U.S. Vice President JD Vance

Islamabad: The United States and Iran concluded a third round of historic, face-to-face negotiations before dawn on Sunday in Pakistan, days after a fragile, two-week ceasefire was announced.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said negotiations have ended early Sunday between the U.S. and Iran without a peace deal after the Iranians refused to accept American terms to not develop a nuclear weapon.

The high-stakes talks ended after 21 hours, Vance said, with the vice president in constant communication with U.S. President Donald Trump and others in the administration.

"But the simple fact is that 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 told reporters. "That is the core goal of the president of the United States. And that's what we've tried to achieve through these negotiations."

Two Pakistani officials said discussions between the heads of the delegations will resume after a break.

Some technical personnel from both teams are still meeting, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the press.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military said two destroyers transited the Iran-gripped Strait of Hormuz ahead of mine-clearing work, a first since the war began. Iran's state media, however, said the joint military command denied that.

"We're sweeping the strait. Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me," Trump told journalists as talks continued and the time approached 2 a.m. in Islamabad. He called negotiations "very deep." Iranian state TV noted what it called "serious" differences.

Iran's delegation told state television it had presented "red lines" in meetings with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, including compensation for damage caused by U.S.-Israeli strikes and releasing Iran's frozen assets.

Iran's 10-point proposal ahead of the talks called for a guaranteed end to the war and sought control over the Strait of Hormuz. It included ending fighting against Iran's "regional allies," explicitly calling for a halt to Israeli strikes on Hezbollah.

The United States' 15-point proposal includes restricting Iran's nuclear program and reopening the strait.

The talks in Islamabad were the first direct U.S.-Iranian meeting in more than a decade and the highest-level discussions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.