Vance says U.S. leaves Islamabad without a deal with Iran

By Tahani Elghazaly
Published April 11, 2026

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U.S. Vice President JD Vance said the American delegation is returning to Washington without an agreement with Iran after roughly 21 hours of direct talks in Islamabad, in a sign that major gaps remain between the two sides on one of the region’s most sensitive files. Reuters and AP reported that the round ended without a political breakthrough, even though it marked the highest level of direct contact between the two sides in more than a decade.

According to the U.S. position, Tehran did not accept Washington’s core demands, especially those linked to the nuclear file. Vance said the United States had put forward what it viewed as its final offer, but the talks did not yield enough progress to produce a deal, prompting the U.S. team to head home empty-handed.

Still, the end of this round does not appear to shut the door completely. The same reports said technical channels remain open, with documents still being exchanged while several contentious issues remain unresolved, including the nuclear program, freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, and broader political and financial disputes tied to the regional escalation.

That leaves the region in a new wait-and-see phase. The lack of an agreement does not simply mark a failed round of talks, it also leaves open questions about whether the fragile truce can hold and whether diplomacy can regain momentum in the coming days, or whether the standoff will harden further. That is a fair inference from Reuters and AP, both of which reported deep unresolved disagreements alongside signs that contact has not fully collapsed.