Tehran: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi revealed that Iran and the United States were “just inches away” from sealing an agreement during high-level talks in Islamabad.
In a post on X, he wrote, “In intensive talks at highest level in 47 years, Iran engaged with US in good faith to end war,” Araghchi wrote on X. “But when just inches away from ‘Islamabad MoU’, we encountered maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade,” he added.
In intensive talks at highest level in 47 years, Iran engaged with U.S in good faith to end war.
But when just inches away from "Islamabad MoU", we encountered maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade.Zero lessons earned
Good will begets good will. Enmity begets enmity.
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) April 12, 2026
Araghchi further stated, “Zero lessons earned. Goodwill begets goodwill. Enmity begets enmity.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf stated that recent threats from US President Donald Trump have “no effect on the Iranian nation,” while also indicating cautious progress in ongoing interactions between Tehran and Washington.
According to Iranian state media and reports by Al Jazeera, Ghalibaf said Iran had presented “very good initiatives” during the talks, helping move the dialogue forward.
He added, “Trump’s recent threats have no effect on the Iranian nation,” and warned the US president, saying, “If you fight, we will fight, and if you come forward with logic, we will respond with logic.” He further emphasized, “We will not bow to any threats; let them test our will once again so that we can teach them a bigger lesson,” reaffirming Iran’s firm stance against external pressure.
These remarks followed hours of negotiations between the United States and Iran in Islamabad on Sunday, which ended without an agreement. US Vice President JD Vance said that despite extensive discussions, no deal was reached.
He noted that while the US delegation would return without an agreement, the outcome was “worse for Iran” than for the United States.
Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, Vance said the talks lasted around 21 hours and involved several substantive discussions but ultimately did not produce a final outcome. “We’ve had a number of substantive agreements with the Iranians that is the good news.
The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement. That is worse for Iran, much more than it is for the United States,” he said, adding that the US delegation would return home without a deal.
