Vice President JD Vance sat across from Iran’s delegation in Islamabad for 21 consecutive hours and left with nothing to show for it – no framework, no timeline, no concession. Iran’s nuclear programme remains intact, its negotiating position unchanged, and the war that was supposed to force Tehran to the table has instead hardened its resolve.
The core demand from Washington – total denuclearisation – is one Iran has rejected for two decades under every administration that has made it. The difference now is that the US is making the demand while simultaneously bombing Iranian territory, seizing Iranian ships, and maintaining a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s counter-argument is simple: a country being attacked by a nuclear-armed adversary has every reason to pursue nuclear deterrence, not less.
Pakistan’s role as mediator has been one of the few diplomatic surprises of the conflict. Islamabad, itself a nuclear state with deep ties to both Washington and Tehran, has positioned itself as neutral ground – a role previously occupied by Qatar and Oman in earlier rounds of Iran diplomacy.
The 21-hour marathon suggests that both sides are at least willing to sit in the same room. But endurance is not progress. The talks reportedly stalled repeatedly on the same two points: Iran’s enrichment activities and the legal status of the US naval blockade. Neither side offered new language on either issue.
Russia, which had earlier warned that the US has a pattern of striking during negotiations, was notably absent from the Islamabad round. China issued a statement calling for “restraint and good faith” without specifying from whom.
After 21 hours, the only agreement was to meet again. At some point, meeting to agree to meet stops being diplomacy and starts being performance.
