On April 14, according to Fox News, U.S. Vice President Vance said that the U.S. delegation withdrew from the negotiations after determining that Iran’s negotiating representatives lacked the authorization to reach a final agreement, and he added that any progress now depends on approval from Tehran’s leadership. He said, “I think we really did understand something about the way Iranians negotiate, and that ultimately was also the reason we left Pakistan, because we found that I think the team there at the time couldn’t reach an agreement—they had to go back to Tehran, either to get approval from the Supreme Leader or from someone else, before they could accept the conditions we put forward.”

Vance emphasized that as long as key conditions are met, Trump remains open to establishing a more normalized relationship with Iran. But he said that for Iran to become a normal country economically, it must be a normal country that does not pursue nuclear weapons, and it must also be a normal country that does not engage in “terrorism.”