President Donald Trump was ringside at a UFC fight in Miami on Saturday night as high-stakes peace talks with Iran unraveled on the other side of the world.
Vice President JD Vance said negotiations broke down after roughly 21 hours, when Tehran refused to commit to abandoning nuclear weapons development.
Trump had already waved off the talks earlier in the day, telling reporters, “I don’t care.”
“Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me,” he added.
Hours later, he arrived at Miami’s Kaseya Center for UFC 327 to a blaring soundtrack of Kid Rock, greeting podcaster Joe Rogan as he took his seat.
Meanwhile, the Iran talks continued for approximately 21 hours in Islamabad before ending where they started—without a deal.
“The bad news is that we have not reached a deal,” Vance told reporters.
“I think that’s bad news for Iran much more than it’s bad news for the United States of America.”
Flanked by the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and real estate developer-turned-Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Vance said the Iranians had chosen not to accept the United States’ terms.
“We leave here with a very simple proposal: a method of understanding that is our final and best offer. We’ll see if the Iranians accept it.”
When pressed by a reporter on what, exactly, Iran had rejected, Vance declined to spell it out, saying he would not “negotiate in public.”
Instead, he pointed back to the same broad demand that Iran would not pursue a nuclear weapon or the means to quickly build one.
The demand is striking, given Iran had made it before.
Under the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration, Tehran committed to not building a nuclear weapon, slashed its uranium stockpile, and opened its facilities to international inspections.
Iranian state media reported that officials accused Washington of “looking for an excuse” to walk away from negotiations rather than compromise.
“Iran presented reasonable initiatives and proposals in the negotiations. The ball is in America’s court to look at the issues realistically,” a source told the Tasnim News Agency.
Back in Miami, the scene couldn’t have been more different.
Trump walked into the arena with UFC president Dana White, pumping his fist and pointing to fans as he made his way to his seat, surrounded by a rotating cast of family and MAGA allies.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio hovered nearby, at one point leaning in to show the president something on his phone while Trump’s children, including Don Jr., Ivanka, and Tiffany, moved in and out of his orbit.
The president showed little outward reaction, offering tight smiles for the cameras, a thumbs-up for the winners, and otherwise keeping his focus on the fights unfolding in front of him rather than those 8,000 miles away.
