US Vice President JD Vance on Sunday said no headway was made during 21 hours of negotiations with Iran in Pakistan, even as a ceasefire in the Middle East hangs by a thread.
Following three rounds of talks that concluded pre-dawn, Vance said during a press briefing, "They have chosen not to accept our terms. The President (Donald Trump) said we have to come in good faith and try to make a deal. Unfortunately, there was no headway.
The US Vice President said that the US sought an affirmative commitment that Iran will not seek a nuclear weapon or try to develop one in the coming years. "Their nuclear program and the enrichment facilities they had before have been destroyed. But we do not see a commitment to not develop more nuclear weapons," he added. Vance's statement came hours after Trump said that regardless of the outcome of the talks, the US has won. "We totally defeated that country. Maybe they make a deal, maybe they don't. From the standpoint of America, I don't care," he said. He went on to say that the US has defeated Tehran "militarily".
The President claimed extensive damage to Iran's military capabilities, asserting that its naval and air assets had been neutralised. "We defeated their navy, we defeated their air force, we defeated their anti-aircraft. We defeated their radar," Trump said, adding that "their leaders are all dead."
Iran maintained that the talks failed due to Washington's unreasonable demands.
Among the key talking points of the negotiations apart from Tehran's nuclear program was the Strait of Hormuz, the critical marine chokepoint on the Persian Gulf which remains all but blocked by Iran.
The US Navy continues operations to sweep mines on the strait, where shipping activity remains severely disrupted. "One of the things that's happening is that boats are sailing up and heading out to our country, big, beautiful tankers and we're loading them up with oil and gas and everything else. And it's pretty beautiful thing to see," he added.
"We're now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz as a favor to Countries all over the World, including China, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, and many others," Trump posted. "Incredibly, they don't have the Courage or Will to do this work themselves."
The destroyers are part of a broader mission to ensure the strait is fully clear of sea mines previously laid by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, US CENTCOM stated. Iran denied the claim, warning that military ships attempting the passage "will be dealt with severely". Tehran added that passage of the strait would only be "granted to civilian vessels under specific conditions."
Trump added that if China lends support to Iran in the war, it will pose problems for Beijing.
The war, that began on February 28, has killed thousands of people and shaken global markets and impacted all countries in the Gulf region.
The talks in Pakistan were the among highest diplomatic engagements since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. The highest-level direct contact had been when President Barack Obama, a Democrat, in September 2013 called newly elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to discuss Iran's nuclear program.