Why US-Iran peace talks ended in stalemate

Despite discussing the topic for 21 hours straight, both teams from United States and Iran reached a stalemate regarding the ongoing conflict that has pushed the entire West Asian region on the brink.

With J D Vance leading the delegation on one side and Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf heading the other, the peace talks were conducted first indirectly through Pakistan and later through direct negotiations.

After the meeting came to an end, Vance said, "Bad news is that we have not reached an agreement". He went on to add,"I think that's bad news for Iran much more than it's bad news for the United States of America."

Even Iran said, "Opposing side ultimately failed to gain the trust of the iranian delegation in this round of negotiations."

But why did the stalemate occur? What happened for the talks to falter?

Right before leaving from Pakistan, Vance said that he doesn't want to go into the nitty-gritty of the talks but they did revolve around nuclear weapons.

He said the American side presented its "final and best offer" to the Iranian side, but it did not accept it but Tehran was not ready to forgo its nuclear programme.

"The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon," Vance said.

Iran, on the other hand, blamed the United States for failing to reach a deal.

"My colleagues in the Iranian delegation... put forward constructive initiatives but ultimately the other side was unable to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations," Ghalibaf said in a post on X.

According to reports, the talks revolved around the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the fate of nearly 900 pounds of highly enriched uranium; and Iran’s demand that about $27 billion in frozen revenues held abroad be released.

Iran's state broadcaster IRIB said negotiations stalled over "unreasonable demands of the American side", though the country's foreign ministry spokesman later noted that "no one" could have expected that after 40 days of war, they would reach an agreement within one session.

The United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, sparking retaliation from Tehran that has plunged West Asia into conflict and the global economy into tumult.