- By Shubham Bajpai
- Sun, 19 Apr 2026 11:56 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Iran on Sunday refused to take part in the second round of negotiations with the United States in Pakistan, even as a US delegation, headed by Vice President JD Vance, is set to reach Islamabad on Monday.
Iran's decision was reported by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Iran’s official state news agency. IRNA's report stated that the Islamic regime decided to skip the second round of talks because of the US's excessive demands, which it cited as unreasonable and unrealistic.
IRNA report said, "US excessive demands and unreasonable, unrealistic requests, repeated changes in positions, continued contradictory statements" had so far hindered progress in talks.
The report also cited US' naval blockade as a violation of the ceasefire understanding. "The continuation of the so-called naval blockade, which is considered a violation of the ceasefire understanding, along with threatening rhetoric, had also hindered talks," the report added.
"Under these conditions, no clear prospect for productive talks is envisaged," IRNA said.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump took to the social media platform Truth Social to warn Iran that he will "knock out every single power plant and every single bridge in Iran" if it rejects hi nuclear deal, adding, 'NO MORE MR NICE GUY!"
"Iran decided to fire bullets yesterday in the Strait of Hormuz — A Total Violation of our Ceasefire Agreement! Many of them were aimed at a French Ship and a Freighter from the United Kingdom. That wasn’t nice, was it?" he asked in his post.
JD Vance's participation confusion
Further, Trump announced that his representatives were going to Pakistan for the second round of talks with Iran. "My Representatives are going to Islamabad, Pakistan — They will be there tomorrow evening, for Negotiations," he added.
Later, he said that Vice President Vance would not take part due to security concerns and that only Steve Witcoff and Jared Kushner would head to Islamabad.
However, in about an hour, the White House confirmed that Vance will lead the talks. A White House official claimed 'things changed' while responding to Trump's earlier claim.
Two-week truce to end on April 21
Iran's decision has raised the stakes for West Asia's security as the two-week truce between Tehran and Washington is set to expire on April 21. If an agreement on either extending the deadline or a permanent resolution is not achieved by the deadline, the strikes could resume again.