US Vice President JD Vance has left Pakistan without securing a deal to end the Iran war – while his boss Donald Trump watched a UFC fight in Florida.
Talks between the US and Iran collapsed last night, with both sides saying they would wait for the other to agree to their terms.
Vance, believed to be a strong skeptic of the war, led the negotiations in Pakistan alongside special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
In a press conference afterwards, the vice president said: ‘They have chosen not to accept our terms.
‘We leave here with a very simple proposal: a method of understanding that is our final and best offer. We’ll see if the Iranians accept it.’
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the talks would only succeed if the US accepted ‘Iran’s legitimate rights and interests.’
The failure came less than five days into a two-week ceasefire which was agreed by the US and Iran hours before a deadline set by the US president.
Trump had warned shortly beforehand in an inflammatory social media post that he would end Iranian civilisation if Tehran failed to take action.
But while the future of the ceasefire was cast into doubt during the talks in Pakistan, he took the time to visit a sports arena in Miami for UFC 327.
Joined by his secretary of state Marco Rubio, the two top government figures relaxed from the stresses of war by watching highlights of men hitting each other.
According to the New York Times, White House officials said they would defer to Trump for comment on the stalled negotiations – but the president stayed at the fight for a further three hours after Vance’s announcement.
Nevertheless, Vance said he had spoken to Trump at least half a dozen times during the talks with Iran and the biggest split was on the future of the Iranian nuclear programme.
Earlier on Saturday, Trump had said no matter the outcome of the negotiations, ‘We win, regardless.’
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