US VP Vance leaves Pakistan as watchers  fear return of US-Iran war

Ebun Emmanuel –April 12, 2026

The United States Vice President JD Vance, has left Islamabad, Pakistan.

He left with other members of US delegation after failing to reach an agreement with Iran following 21 hours of negotiations.

Vance departed Pakistan on Sunday, saying Iran refused to accept key American conditions, including commitments not to develop nuclear weapons.

“I think this is bad news for Iran much more than it’s bad news for the United States of America.

“So we go back to the United States having not come to an agreement. We’ve made very clear what our red lines are,” Vance said.

He disclosed that he spoke multiple times with US president Donald Trump during the negotiations, stressing that Iran’s nuclear programme remained a major sticking point.

“We need to see an affirmative commitment that [Iran] will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon.

“That is the core goal of the president of the United States, and that’s what we’ve tried to achieve through these negotiations,” he added.

Iran, however, downplayed the outcome, insisting that no immediate agreement had been expected.

“Naturally, from the beginning we should not have expected to reach an agreement in a single session. No one had such an expectation,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei.

He added that Tehran remained open to continued engagement through regional partners.

Uncertainty now surrounds the future of the 14-day ceasefire earlier agreed by the US, Iran, and Israel, with no clear indication from either Washington or Tehran on the next steps.

“It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to the ceasefire,” he said.