What now? Failure in Islamabad leaves Trump facing unpalatable options

April 12, 2026 — 3:53pm

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US Vice President JD Vance’s failure to win the concessions the United States sought from Iran in a single, marathon negotiating session over its nuclear program was no surprise.

The failure leaves the Trump administration facing several unpalatable options: A lengthy negotiation with Tehran over the future of its nuclear program, or a resumption of a war that has created the largest energy disruption in modern times, and the prospect of a long struggle over who controls the Strait of Hormuz.

White House officials said they would defer to President Donald Trump, who travelled to Florida for the weekend to attend a UFC match, to announce the administration’s next move. But each of those paths carries significant strategic and political downsides.

Vance said little about what took place during more than 21 hours of negotiations, suggesting he had handed the Iranians a take-it-or-leave-it proposal to forever terminate their nuclear program, and they left it.

US-Iran war live updates: Talks end with no agreement; Two US warships pass through Strait of Hormuz

“We’ve made very clear what our red lines are,” Vance told reporters, “what things we’re willing to accommodate them on. They have chosen not to accept our terms.”

In that respect, this negotiation appears to have differed little from the one that ended in deadlock in Geneva in late........

© The Age