The United States has failed to secure a peace agreement with Iran following extensive negotiations conducted in Pakistan. Vice President JD Vance delivered an update on Sunday morning local time in Islamabad, reporting that after 21 hours of marathon talks, the US had reached a number of ‘substantive discussions’ with the Iranians. However, Vance also stated that the ‘bad news’ was the lack of an agreement. He asserted that the failure to reach a deal was bad news for Iran rather than for the United States, noting that the US had made its ‘red lines’ clear, which the Iranians had chosen not to accept. Specifically, Vance emphasized that the US could not get an ‘affirmative commitment’ from Iran regarding the regime’s commitment not to seek or build a nuclear weapon, despite the fact that Iran’s nuclear facilities had been reportedly ‘destroyed.’
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump was observed attending a UFC event in Miami, where he was reportedly sitting cageside. During an earlier period while negotiations were ongoing, Trump had told reporters that it made no difference to him whether a deal was reached, asserting that the US had won the war regardless. He remarked, ‘We’re in very deep negotiations with Iran – we win regardless,’ and added, ‘whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me, and the reason is because we’ve won.’
These statements followed confirmations from the US military. American destroyers, specifically the USS Frank E. Peterson and USS Michael Murphy, had successfully traversed the strait into the Persian Gulf. This transiting marked the first US ships to navigate the waterway since the outbreak of the war with Iran in late February. Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM, announced that the US was beginning the process of establishing a new passage and that this safe pathway would soon be shared with the maritime industry to encourage the free flow of commerce. Iran had issued a warning that it would target vessels within 30 minutes; however, it later ‘strongly denied’ that the ships had passed through.
During his appearance, Trump was joined by an entourage that included Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ivanka Trump. He was seen shaking hands with commentator and podcaster Joe Rogan, who had previously supported Trump’s campaign but had subsequently criticized the president concerning the war in Iran.