US-Iran peace talks end after 21 hours without a deal as JD Vance says Tehran didn’t

By TARYN KAUR PEDLER, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER

Updated: 03:14 EDT, 12 April 2026

Peace talks between the US and Iran have ended after 21 hours without a deal.

Vice President JD Vance left Islamabad after discussions ended, saying he has put forward a ‘final and best offer’.

But Iran’s Foreign Ministry says the two sides have agreed on a number of points, and it is natural that no agreement was reached in a day.

Iranian foreign ministry says talks took place in ‘atmosphere of mistrust’

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei earlier said that the US should refrain from making ‘excessive demands’.

He later added that the peace talks took place in ‘an atmosphere filled with mistrust, suspicion and doubt’, following more than 40 days of ‘imposed war’ and not long after a ceasefire came into force.

Baghaei tells the Iranian state’s Student News Network: ‘We should not have expected from the start that we could reach an agreement in a single session.

‘I don’t think anyone had such expectations.’

He added that ‘diplomacy never ends’.

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PICTURED: JD Vance leaves Pakistan after US-Iran peace talks end

Around an hour-and-a-half ago, US Vice President JD Vance departed Pakistan on Air Force Two, heading back home after no deal was reached with Iran to end the war.

The Iranian delegation has also left Islamabad, state media reported.

US Vice President JD Vance (C) shakes hands with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar (3rd R), as Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi (L), Pakistan's Chief of Defence Forces Chief of Army Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir (centre R) and Charge d'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad Natalie A. Baker (2nd R) look on, as he prepares to board Air Force Two after attending talks on Iran in Islamabad on April 12, 2026. Iran and the United States failed to reach an agreement to end the war in the Middle East, US Vice President JD Vance said April 12 after marathon talks in Islamabad, adding that he was leaving negotiations after giving Tehran the

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - APRIL 12: Vice President JD Vance walks with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, partially seen on the left, Pakistan's Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir, third left, Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, and Charge d'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad Natalie A. Baker, right, before boarding Air Force Two after attending talks on Iran on April 12, 2026 in Islamabad, Pakistan. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin - Pool/Getty Images)

US Vice President JD Vance (L) talks to Pakistan's Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir (R) and Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar (C) before boarding Air Force Two after attending talks on Iran in Islamabad on April 12, 2026. Iran and the United States failed to reach an agreement to end the war in the Middle East, US Vice President JD Vance said April 12 after marathon talks in Islamabad, adding that he was leaving negotiations after giving Tehran the

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - APRIL 12: Vice President JD Vance boards Air Force Two after attending talks on Iran on April 12, 2026 in Islamabad, Pakistan. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin - Pool/Getty Images)

Key developments:

Iran said the US should refrain from making ‘excessive demands and unlawful requests’, and negotiate with ‘seriousness and good faith’ in a statement from foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.
US vice president JD Vance then gave an update following the conclusion of peace talks, saying Iranian negotiators ‘have chosen not to accept our terms’, including a commitment from Tehran not to seek or develop nuclear weapons;
He added: ‘So we go back to the United States, having not come to an agreement.’
Iranian state media, citing a source close to its own negotiating team, said there was disagreement on several issues, adding: ‘The Americans demanded through negotiations everything they could not obtain through war.’

Welcome to the Daily Mail’s live coverage

Good morning, and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East, as US-Iran peace talks in Islamabad appeared to break down on Sunday.

After a 21-hour first day of talks, US vice-president JD Vance announced on Sunday that his negotiating team was leaving Pakistan without reaching a deal.

Vance said Iran had chosen not to accept American terms, including a commitment to not build nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, Iranian state media said the talks had failed due to the US’s ‘unreasonable demands’.

Vice President JD Vance gives a thumb up sign as he boards Air Force Two after attending talks on Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan, Sunday, April 12, 2026, . (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)