LIVE: Islamabad talks fail as US, Iran cannot bridge differences

The spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmaeil Baqaei, in an X message also confirmed that the two sides failed to make a deal and “numerous messages and texts have been exchanged between the two sides".

“In the past 24 hours, discussions were held on various dimensions of the main negotiation topics, including the Strait of Hormuz, the nuclear issue, war reparations, lifting of sanctions, and the complete end to the war against Iran and in the region,” he wrote.

“The success of this diplomatic process depends on the seriousness and good faith of the opposing side, refraining from excessive demands and unlawful requests, and the acceptance of Iran’s legitimate rights and interests.”

Baqaei also expressed appreciation to the “government and the warm-hearted and noble people of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for hosting the negotiations and their benevolent efforts in advancing this process”.

US Vice President JD Vance said on Sunday that the Islamabad Talks with Iran failed as the two sides could not bridge the gulf of differences despite hectic efforts spreading more than 21 hours.

Vance addressed a press conference here after “substantive discussions” in direct talks between the two sides—the first since 1979 at this level—mediated by Pakistan.

“We have been at it now for 21 hours, and we have had a number of substantive discussions, that’s the good news,” Vance said.

“The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement,” he added.

“We have made very clear what our red lines are, what things we are willing to accommodate them on and what things we are not,” the US vice president said, adding that the Iranian delegation had “chosen not to accept our terms”.

He was asked to elaborate the main sticking points of what did the Iranians reject but he refused to go into specifics.

“I won’t go into all the details because I don’t want to negotiate in public after we negotiated for 21 hours in private. But the simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon and that they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon,” Vance said.

He said stopping Iran from getting a "nuke" was the “core goal of the US president, and that’s what we have tried to achieve through these negotiations”.

A group of 312 Indian fishermen, who were stranded in Iran amid escalating regional tensions, returned to India through Armenia, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday.

The fresh batch was brought back home a week after 345 Indian fishermen were evacuated from Iran.

The external affairs minister thanked his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan for Armenia's assistance in return of the Indian nationals.

"Another 312 Indian fishermen safely evacuated from Iran to India through Armenia. Thank the Government of Armenia and my friend @AraratMirzoyan for making it possible," Jaishankar said on social media.

In his strongest words yet, Pope Leo XIV on Saturday denounced the “delusion of omnipotence” that is fuelling the US-Israel war in Iran and demanded political leaders stop and negotiate peace.

Leo presided over an evening prayer service in St. Peter's Basilica on the same day the US and Iran began face-to-face negotiations in Pakistan. The Vatican is particularly concerned about the spillover of Israel's war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, given the plight of Christian communities in the south.

History's first US-born pope didn't mention the United States or President Donald Trump in his prayer, which was planned before the talks were announced. But Leo's tone and message appeared directed at Trump and US officials, who have boasted of US military superiority and justified the war in religious terms.

“Enough of the idolatry of self and money!” Leo said. “Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!” In the basilica pews was the archbishop of Tehran, Belgian Cardinal Dominique Joseph Mathieu. The US was represented in the diplomatic corps by its deputy chief of mission, Laura Hochla, the US Embassy said.

Leo called for all people of good will to pray for peace and demand an end to war from their political leaders. The evening vigil in Rome, which featured Scripture readings and meditative recitation of the Rosary prayers, was taking place as simultaneous local prayer services were being held in the US and beyond.

Praying for peace, Leo said, was a way to “break the demonic cycle of evil” to build instead the Kingdom of God where there are no swords, drones or “unjust profit.” “It is here that we find a bulwark against that delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive,” he said.

“Even the holy Name of God, the God of life, is being dragged into discourses of death.” Leaders have used religion to justify their actions in the war. US officials and especially Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have invoked their Christian faith to cast the US as a Christian nation trying to vanquish its foes.

Leo has said God doesn't bless any war, and certainly not those who drop bombs.

Claiming "historic achievements" in the fight against Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement on Saturday that the "campaign is not yet over," but Israel managed to foil Iran's nuclear ambitions.

"The campaign against Iran is not over, we still have more to do. But even now it can be clearly stated that we have historic achievements," Netanyahu said in the video in Hebrew.

"We went into the campaign because Iran was very close to nuclear weapons and the capability to produce hundreds of missiles per day. Two existential threats that we had to remove from over our heads," the Israeli Prime Minister asserted.

"Khamenei wanted to conceal the production of missiles and the nuclear programme deep underground in such a way that even B-2 aircraft wouldn’t have been able to reach it. We could not stand idly by," he claimed.

Amid questions about the fate of more than 400 Kilograms of enriched uranium still lying in Iran, the Israeli leader reiterated that it will be removed from the Islamic Republic through diplomatic process or by use of force.

Moving to a map of the West Asia with the Iranian axis highlighted in red soon after the start of his video statement, Netanyahu said, “they wanted to strangle us, and we are strangling them.” “We hit them, we still have more to do,” he stressed.

The Israeli leader repeated that he spent much of his life ensuring that Iran won’t achieve nuclear weapons, including by approving covert operations to delay it and also informing the world of the danger.

“But the world wouldn’t hear,” he said adding, Israel “broke the barrier of fear” by striking Iran last June.

"Those who threatened to destroy us are now fighting for their own survival," the Israeli Premier asserted.

He also claimed major achievements on other fronts that posed threat to Israel: Syria, Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

"As a result of the strength we showed, Lebanon reached out several times in the past month to begin direct peace talks. I approved this subject to two conditions: we want to achieve the disarmament of Hezbollah and we want a real peace agreement that will last for generations," Netanyahu said.

"We have created a security zone of between 8-10 km. We are fighting Hezbollah because we are determined, I am determined, to restore security to the residents of the north - they deserve it like all citizens of Israel," he said.

Netanyahu also hinted at resuming fighting against Hamas in Gaza.

Grief and rage are soaring as Lebanon and Israel, which do not maintain diplomatic relations, prepare to start direct talks next week in the United States, for the first time in decades.

The prospect of those negotiations in Washington has sent anti-government protesters into the streets and piled pressure on Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who has demanded a truce as a condition for negotiations.

Israel insists the talks will focus on the disarmament of the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group and will not lead to a ceasefire.

On Saturday, Salam said he has postponed his planned trip to Washington, citing “the current internal situation”.

Salam's absence should not affect the upcoming talks in the US, the first round next week is expected to be at the ambassadorial level.

But the announcement that he would stay in Beirut to “preserve the security and unity of the Lebanese people” cast a spotlight on the awkward dynamic that the Lebanese government is navigating as it seeks to halt Israeli attacks without openly confronting the far stronger forces of either Israel or Hezbollah.

Friday's killing of 13 state security personnel at once, when an Israeli airstrike hit their office headquarters in the southern town of Nabatiyeh, has struck a particular nerve, coming just two days after Israeli strikes on Beirut and beyond killed over 350 people in one of the deadliest single bombing campaigns in crisis-wracked Lebanon's history.

The strike crashed into the state security headquarters just minutes after 14 officers returned from what would be their last mission – transferring detainees from the southern town to a safer facility in the coastal city of Sidon, further north. The one surviving officer is being treated for severe burns.

In response to a request for comment on the attack, the Israeli military said it had struck Hezbollah militant infrastructure in Nabitiyeh on Friday and was “aware of reports regarding harm to Lebanese security personnel”. It said it was investigating the incident.

A spokesperson for Iran's joint military command has denied an earlier claim by the US that two Navy destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz, adding that “initiative over the passage of any vessel rests with the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran”, according to Iran's state-media.

Iran's state media said Iran forced a US military ship that was attempting to cross the strait to turn around.

Trump said on social media on Saturday that the US had begun “clearing out” the Strait of Hormuz.

“Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon,” US Central Command commander Adm Brad Cooper later said.

The US statement about the destroyers added: "Additional US forces, including underwater drones, will join the clearance effort in the coming days.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said Tehran was entering negotiations with “deep distrust” after strikes on Iran during previous talks. Araghchi, part of Iran's delegation in Pakistan, said on Saturday that his country was prepared to retaliate if attacked again.

Iran's state-run news agency said the three-party talks began after Iranian preconditions, including a reduction in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, were met.

Iran's delegation told state television it had presented “red lines” in meetings with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, including compensation for damage caused by US-Israeli strikes that launched the war on February 28 and releasing Iran's frozen assets.

The war has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, 2,020 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states, and caused lasting damage to infrastructure in half a dozen Middle Eastern countries.

Reflecting the high stakes, officials from the region said Chinese, Egyptian, Saudi and Qatari officials were in Islamabad to indirectly facilitate talks.

The United States and Iran concluded a third round of historic, face-to-face negotiations before dawn on Sunday in Pakistan.

Two Pakistani officials told news agency AP that discussions between the heads of the delegations will resume after a break. Some technical personnel from both teams are still meeting, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, the US military said two destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz ahead of mine-clearing work, a first since the war began. Iran's state media, however, said the joint military command denied that.

“We're sweeping the strait. Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me,” Trump told journalists as talks continued.

He called the negotiations “very deep.” Iranian state TV noted what it called “serious” differences.

Earlier, the US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance and the Iranian one led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf discussed with Pakistan how to advance the ceasefire already threatened by deep disagreements and Israel's continued attacks against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, whose health ministry said the death toll has surpassed 2,000.