"A BIG NO": Iran rejects US demands as 21-hour Islamabad Talks end in deadlock

The Iran-US talks in Pakistan have ended without a deal due to "excessive demands" made by the American side, a top Iranian official said on Sunday. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei, however, said Iran is determined to utilise all tools, including diplomacy, to secure national interests and protect the country's well-being. US Vice President JD Vance, who led the American delegation, said the talks failed to reach a peace deal, citing Tehran not forgoing its nuclear programme as one of the key sticking points. He said the American side presented its "final and best offer" to the Iranian side, but it did not accept it. Baqaei, however, said that the two sides reached a consensus on some issues, but they held different views regarding 2-3 important matters. He said that during the intensive negotiations that began Saturday morning, with Pakistan's mediation, numerous messages and texts were exchanged between the two sides. "In the past 24 hours, discussions were held on various dimensions of the main negotiation topics, including the Strait of Hormuz, the nuclear issue, war reparations, lifting of sanctions, and the complete end to the war against Iran and in the region," Baqaei said. "The success of this diplomatic process depends on the seriousness and good faith of the opposing side, refraining from excessive demands and unlawful requests, and the acceptance of Iran's legitimate rights and interests," he added. He said it was natural that Iran should not have expected from the beginning to reach an agreement within one meeting. "No one expected that either." "We have not forgotten and will not forget the experiences of America's breaches of promise and malicious acts," he said. He thanked Pakistan for hosting the negotiations and for its efforts in advancing this process.Iran's foreign ministry said no one had held any expectation that talks could have reached an agreement within one session. "Naturally, from the beginning we should not have expected to reach an agreement in a single session. No one had such an expectation," ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said, according to IRIB. He said Tehran was "confident that contacts between us and Pakistan, as well as our other friends in the region, will continue". Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency said the US had sought concessions they couldn't obtain in the war, including around the Strait of Hormuz -- a crucial waterway for about a fifth of global oil flows -- and the removal of nuclear materials.

The statement came shortly after US Vice President JD Vance, who was leading the American delegation, said they were leaving Islamabad with their "final and best offer". "We'll see if the Iranians accept it," he told reporters after multiple rounds of negotiations.