Vice President JD Vance sat down with Bret Baier on Fox News’ Special Report Monday to deliver the most detailed American account yet of what happened — and what didn’t — during nearly 21 hours of direct negotiations between the United States and Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan.

The answer to why the talks produced no deal was, Vance said, ultimately a structural one: the Iranian delegation present at the table was not empowered to finalize an agreement. They had to go home first.

Vance was careful to distinguish between the talks having failed and the talks being over. They are not the same thing, he suggested — and that distinction matters enormously for what comes next.

The Vice President framed U.S. positions as transparent, specific, and non-negotiable on the core issues — while suggesting flexibility on process and sequencing. Washington, he implied, has done its part. It presented a serious offer. It sat at the table for nearly a full day. It was Iran’s delegation — not its willingness — that was the limiting factor.

Vance reiterated the three pillars of the American position that guided the Islamabad discussions: no Iranian nuclear weapon, removal of nuclear material from Iranian territory, and unconditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz — which he has separately described as a form of “economic terrorism” that Iran has been conducting against global shipping.

He also acknowledged that the talks produced movement in some areas — describing “a lot of progress” on certain issues — while making clear that on the fundamental question of Iran’s nuclear ambitions, there was no American flexibility and no ambiguity about the U.S. position.

Despite the absence of a deal, Vance opened his Fox News interview with an extended tribute to Pakistan’s role — a level of public praise that has drawn attention in diplomatic circles for its specificity and warmth.

Vance was equally clear that Pakistan bore no responsibility for the absence of a final deal: “They did an amazing job and really tried to help us and the Iranians bridge the gap and get to a deal.” That framing — crediting Pakistan fully while placing the impasse entirely on the Iranian delegation’s limited authority — shapes the diplomatic record in a way that keeps Islamabad’s role as neutral broker intact for any potential second round of talks.

Reports as of Monday indicate that Pakistani officials have proposed hosting a second round of U.S.–Iran talks in Islamabad before the current ceasefire window closes entirely. Both Pakistani officials cited familiar channels — PM Sharif working “day and night” to sustain the process — as evidence that the infrastructure for continued dialogue remains in place.

Whether Iran’s leadership in Tehran reviews the Islamabad terms and authorizes its delegation to return with the authority to finalize a deal — or whether the current naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz marks a permanent return to maximum pressure — is a decision that now sits, as Vance put it, entirely in Iran’s court.

All direct quotes sourced from VP JD Vance’s appearance on Fox News Special Report with Bret Baier, April 13, 2026. Extended analysis available via Times of Israel ↗. Follow FFN at fandfnews.com.