Vice President says Iran rejected U.S. terms after 21-hour talks
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Summary
The Vice President said negotiators left Pakistan after 21 hours of talks without an agreement because Iran refused U.S. terms, including an affirmative long-term commitment not to pursue a nuclear weapon. Reporters pressed on frozen assets and communications with the president.
The Vice President said U.S. negotiators spent 21 hours in talks with Iranian officials in Pakistan but left without a deal because the Iranians would not accept U.S. terms, including an "affirmative commitment" not to pursue a nuclear weapon.
"We've been at it now for 21 hours, and we've had a number of substantive discussions with the Iranians," the Vice President said, adding: "The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement." He said U.S. negotiators made clear what they would and would not accommodate and that the Iranians "have chosen not to accept our terms."
The Vice President declined to outline negotiating details in public, saying "I won't go into all the details because I don't wanna negotiate in public after we negotiate it for 21 hours in private." He emphasized the core U.S. objective: "we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon."
He also said some Iranian enrichment facilities "that they've had before" have been destroyed but that the central question remains whether Iran will make a long-term commitment not to develop a weapon. "We haven't seen that yet," he said.
When asked whether the talks produced a framework or addressed frozen Iranian assets, reporter Jen asked if there were conclusions on those issues. The Vice President said the topics were discussed but that "we just could not get to a situation where the Iranians were willing to accept our terms."
A reporter identified as Preston asked how often the Vice President communicated with President Trump during the negotiations. The Vice President said he and the negotiating team were in frequent contact "a half dozen times, a dozen times over the past 21 hours," and that they also spoke with "Admiral Cooper, Pete, Marco, the entire national security team" and "Scott Bissen." He said the U.S. delegation left with "a very simple proposal... our final and best offer" and would await whether the other side accepted it.
The briefing concluded without an agreement; the Vice President said the U.S. team had negotiated in good faith but "weren't able to make any headway."
