GOP Sen. Johnson says Iran will be 'a long term project' after talks fail [View all]

Source: ABC News

April 12, 2026, 10:21 AM


Republican Sen. Ron Johnson said Sunday he was not surprised that peace talks between the U.S. and Iran stalled over the weekend, and that securing U.S. goals in Iran could be a "long-term project."

"I'm not surprised at all," Johnson told ABC News' "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz. "The ayatollahs, even though they have been so degraded in terms of their capabilities, nobody thought this would be easy. They've been preparing for this for 47 years."

Peace talks between the U.S. and Iran in Islamabad ended over the weekend after Vice President JD Vance said Iran would not agree not to seek a nuclear weapon, a key sticking point for President Donald Trump and his administration.

But just before the peace efforts failed, Trump told reporters that he did not care if the U.S. made a deal with Iran, saying that the U.S. would win either way. But as the fate of the war remained uncertain Sunday, Johnson said that the job was not finished in Iran.

Read more: https://abcnews.com/Politics/gop-sen-johnson-iran-long-term-project-after/story?id=131967290