After 21 hours of negotiations with Iran, the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, said this Saturday (April 11, 2026) that the North American delegation leaves Islamabad without a peace agreement. The capital of Pakistan served as neutral territory to mediate negotiations to end the war, which did not make any progress. The armed conflict lasts more than 40 days.
According to Vance, Iran did not accept North American terms. The main inflection topic was the demand that Iran not build nuclear weapons. “We haven’t reached a deal, and I think that’s much worse news for Iran than it is for the United States.”said the US vice president in an interview with journalists.
Another obstacle in negotiations for a ceasefire is the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of global oil supplies pass, as well as important inputs for the global economy, such as liquefied natural gas and urea.
Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the conflict, which has contributed to rising global oil prices due to reduced supply and a shortage of flow in the main energy export route from the Persian Gulf. In this context of instability, Iran began to defend the charging of transit fees for vessels using the strait, as a way of obtaining direct revenue from maritime passage and reinforcing its strategic position on one of the most sensitive routes in global energy trade.
At this moment, according to Iranian authorities, the crossing is reopened, but under a , which maintains the climate of uncertainty and reduces the volume of crossings. Iran has announced that it will destroy ships that arrive in the Strait of Hormuz without authorization.
WHAT EACH SIDE WANTS
The North American demands are:
- free navigation in the Strait of Oormuz;
- contain the Iranian nuclear program and prevent advances in weapons capabilities;
- weaken Iranian military capacity in the regional conflict;
- reduce the influence of Tehran’s regional allies;
- maintain pressure for sanctions and economic limits on Iran.
Iran wants:
- maintain or expand control over the Strait of Hormuz;
- lift its economic sanctions;
- have access to financial assets frozen abroad;
- war reparations;
- broader regional ceasefire, including Lebanon;
- preserve strategic military and nuclear capabilities.
Why a deal is difficult
Negotiations face deep structural frictions that go beyond the current conflict. The US makes any progress conditional on limiting Iran’s nuclear program and guaranteeing free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran, on the other hand, interprets these demands as direct restrictions on its sovereignty and insists on maintaining its military capabilities, in addition to economic compensation for the impacts of the war.
In addition, disagreements persist over economic sanctions, frozen assets abroad and the regional security architecture, including the role of Iranian allies in the Middle East. These points, added to the distrust accumulated between Washington and Tehran over decades, make a comprehensive agreement politically sensitive and technically complex, even with negotiations continuing.
The conversation marked the first direct meeting between representatives of the two countries in more than 10 years, in addition to the highest-level meeting between them since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The Vice President of the United States, (Republican Party), the Special Envoy and the President’s son-in-law (Republican Party), participated in meetings with the President of the Iranian Parliament, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs,.
