US-Iran peace talks collapsed on Sunday after a marathon 21-hour session, with Vice President J.D. Vance blaming Iran’s refusal to commit to giving up its nuclear program, while Catholic leaders in Rome and Washington denounced the broader conflict as immoral and shouted “Enough of war!”
“The bad news is that we haven’t reached an agreement. And I think that’s more bad news for Iran than it is bad news for the United States,” Vance told reporters in Islamabad. “We have had many substantive discussions with the Iranians. This is good news.”
He said the main stumbling block remains Iran’s nuclear ambitions: “But the simple fact is that we need to see a positive commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the equipment that would enable them to quickly acquire a nuclear weapon. That is the main goal of the President of the United States. And that’s what we’ve tried to achieve through these negotiations.”
Vance stressed that the US side negotiated “in good faith”, but Iran “has decided not to accept our terms.” He added: “We are going here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding that is our final and best proposal. We will see whether the Iranians accept it or not.”
Iran has insisted that the objectives of its nuclear program are civilian.
The high-level face-to-face talks in Pakistan, brokered between the two countries, followed weeks of military confrontation that began in late February and led to a two-week ceasefire that will end on April 22. With no agreement secured, the future of that ceasefire now hangs in greater uncertainty.
Despite the breakdown of talks, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar encouraged both sides to move forward.Maintain our commitment to the ceasefire.”
Vance, a Catholic convert and Iraq War veteran, has considered the moral significance of these national security decisions in the context of his faith. Speaking to The Washington Post last week about US action to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, he said: “I certainly hope that God will agree with the decision that Iran should not have nuclear weapons, but I will keep praying about it.” He said his approach is to “pray that we are on God’s side” because “that would mean a lot of innocent people would be killed.”
Catholic leaders in the US and the Vatican have responded to the widespread conflict with strong calls for peace and a return to dialogue.
In Rome, Pope Leo XIV led a peace campaign at the Vatican on 11 April, where he made a strong appeal against violence.
“Enough of the war!” He declared, lamenting the human and spiritual cost of the fighting. He asserted that prayer is “the most free, universal and disintegrating response to death” and one of the things that “breaks the demonic chain of evil and puts oneself at the service of the Kingdom of God; a Kingdom in which there is no sword, no drone, no revenge, no significance of evil, no unfair advantage but only dignity, understanding and forgiveness.”
He and other Catholic leaders have been attracted to the church bus war traditionWhich believes that the use of force must meet strict ethical criteria, including just cause, true intent, last resort, proportionality, and discrimination between combatants and non-combatants.
The Holy Father called on all parties to reject tensions and instead pursue patient, honest dialogue aimed at genuine coexistence and the protection of civilians.
He said, “Wait! It’s time for peace! Sit at the tables of negotiation and mediation, not at the tables where rearmament plans are made and acts of death are discussed.”
At a special Mass for Peace held in Washington, DC, on April 11, Cardinal Robert McElroy argued that the current war fails to meet the strict criteria of just war theory, especially in light of the risk of civilian suffering and disproportionate damage.
The cardinal urged the faithful to pray for an immediate end to hostilities and diplomats to pray for a just solution that protects human life.
Predicting the failure of the talks “because of the intransigence of both sides” and the re-entry of the United States into hostilities after the armistice, he said: “At that critical juncture, as the disciples of Jesus Christ were called to be peacemakers in the world, we must answer emphatically and with one voice: No,” he said. “Not in our name. Not at this time. Not with our country.”
He warned of “expansion of the war far beyond Iran, disruption of the world economy and loss of life”.
