US vice president praises Pakistan’s role in US-Iran talks, says 'ball in Tehran’s court'

United States Vice President JD Vance has praised Pakistan’s leadership for facilitating rare direct engagement between Washington and Tehran, following talks hosted in Islamabad that ended without a breakthrough.

“I have to give a lot of credit to Field Marshal Munir and the prime minister of Pakistan, both who are incredible hosts, and, I think, incredible statesmen and helping mediate the conversation between us and the Iranians — again, two countries that have not really had serious discussions in a very long time,” Vance said in an interview with Fox News.

The weekend marked an unusual diplomatic opening between the United States and Iran, but concluded without an agreement to halt the more than five-week US-Israeli assault against the Islamic Republic.

Vance, who led the US delegation, said Washington had clearly outlined its position during the talks and was now awaiting Tehran’s response.

"I really think the ball is in the Iranian court, because we put a lot on the table. We actually made very clear what our red lines were," he said.

"There are two things in particular where the president of the United States really said we have no flexibility," Vance added, identifying them as US control over Iran’s enriched uranium and the establishment of a robust verification mechanism to prevent any future development of nuclear weapons.

"It's one thing for the Iranians to say that they're not going to have a nuclear weapon. It's another thing for us to put in place the mechanism to ensure that's not going to happen," he said.

He also noted that, in exchange for a two-week ceasefire agreed last week, Washington expects Tehran to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping route that has effectively been shut by Iranian forces.