US Ultimatum Rejected as Iran Nuclear Talks Fail After 21 Hours

The United States and Iran held 21 hours of negotiations over the nuclear issue but failed to reach a consensus. The two-week ceasefire is set to expire on April 21.

US Vice President Vance said after the meeting that he had presented Iran with an ultimatum demanding a permanent end to its nuclear program, which was rejected. Vance stated that the US had drawn red lines and indicated areas where it was willing to make concessions, but Iran did not accept the terms. The talks resembled the deadlock in Geneva in February, which broke down and led to 38 days of US military strikes that bombed more than 13,000 targets. Iran's foreign ministry statement stressed that US military strikes only strengthen Iran's determination to defend its sovereign rights.

The core disagreement centers on the US demand that Iran surrender its stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium and permanently renounce the right to enrich uranium on its soil. Iran insists that as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, it has the right to peaceful nuclear energy and is only willing to temporarily suspend some activities.

Iran also presented several conditions during the talks, including the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, US payment of war reparations, and the full lifting of economic sanctions that have been in place for 20 years.