Islamabad, 12 April (H.S.):

The peace negotiations between the United States and Iran in Islamabad have ended in failure. Discussions between the two countries' delegations lasted approximately 21 hours. U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who led the American delegation, has departed Pakistan for home. It was earlier stated that talks would continue today, but Vance left for America before that, stating in a press conference that the bad news is we could not reach any agreement. In his view, this is far worse news for Iran than for America, which is why he is returning home without any deal.

According to a Fox News report, Vice President JD Vance departed Pakistan for the United States on Sunday at 7:09 AM local time aboard Air Force Two, after concluding 21 hours of talks with Iranian officials. The negotiations ended without reaching any agreement. Vance announced at a Sunday morning press conference that Iran had decided not to accept the conditions. More than a month after the launch of America's Operation Epic Fury, the Vice President had arrived in Pakistan on Saturday morning to lead talks with Iran.

According to the Dawn newspaper, Vance addressed a press conference here after direct talks between the two countries. Vance said, We have been working on this for the past 21 hours and we have had serious discussions. The bad news is that we have not been able to reach any agreement. The Vice President stated, We have made it clear what our goals are. We have also made it clear which of Iran's demands we are willing to accept. But the Iranian delegation has refused to accept our conditions. At the start of the press conference, Vance praised Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, calling them excellent hosts.

He also clarified that Pakistan, as a mediator, did an excellent job and truly tried to help bridge the gap between us so that an agreement could be reached. When asked what specific points Iran rejected, Vance said, I won't go into all the details, because after 21 hours of private talks, I don't want to negotiate publicly now. But the straight talk is that we need a firm assurance that they will not try to build nuclear weapons and nor will they try to acquire the means to rapidly obtain nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ismail Baghai wrote on X, It has been a busy and long day for the delegation in Islamabad. During this time, many messages and documents were exchanged between both sides. The main topics of discussion were the Hormuz Strait, the nuclear issue, war reparations, lifting of sanctions, and the complete end to the war.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar