ISLAMABAD – The United States and Iran ended face-to-face talks on Sunday without an agreement. U.S. officials said the negotiations broke down over Iran’s refusal to commit to abandoning their nuclear weapon program, leaving a fragile two-week ceasefire in doubt.
Neither side indicated what will happen after the 14-day ceasefire expires. Pakistani mediators urged all parties to maintain it.
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“We need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon,” Vice President JD Vance, who led the U.S. delegation, said after the 21-hour-long talks.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the talks collapsed over a “gap between our opinions over two or three important issues.” He told state television that the Strait of Hormuz was among the topics discussed and blamed “U.S. overreach.”
He did not mention nuclear weapons, though the broadcaster earlier mentioned Iran's nuclear program as a key sticking point.
Since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28, it has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, 2,020 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states, and caused lasting damage to infrastructure in half a dozen Middle Eastern countries. Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz has largely cut off the Persian Gulf and its oil and gas exports from the global economy, sending energy prices soaring.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said his country will try to facilitate a new dialogue between Iran and the U.S. in the coming days.
“It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to ceasefire,” Dar said.
There was no word on whether negotiations would resume, though Iran said it was open to continuing the dialogue, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported.
US moves to shift status quo in Strait of Hormuz
The United States and Iran entered talks with sharply different proposals and contrasting assumptions about their leverage to end the war. Before negotiations began, the ceasefire was already threatened by deep disagreements and Israel’s continued attacks against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Iran’s 10-point proposal ahead of the talks called for a guaranteed end to the war and sought control over the Strait of Hormuz. It included ending fighting against Iran’s “regional allies,” explicitly calling for a halt to Israeli strikes on Hezbollah.
Pakistani officials told The Associated Press in March that the U.S. 15-point proposal included monitoring mechanisms and rollback of Iran’s nuclear program. Speaking on condition of anonymity as they weren’t authorized to discuss details, they said it also covered reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Indeed, Iran’s closure of the strait has proved its biggest strategic advantage in the war. Around a fifth of the world’s traded oil had typically passed through on over 100 ships a day.
During the talks, the U.S. military said two destroyers transited the critical waterway ahead of mine-clearing work, a first since the war began. Iran’s state media, however, reported the country's joint military command denied that.
“We’re sweeping the strait. Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me,” Trump said as talks extended into early Sunday morning.
Israel presses ahead in Lebanon
The impasse raises new questions about fighting in Lebanon. Israel pressed ahead with strikes after the ceasefire was announced, saying the agreement did not apply there. Iran and Pakistan claimed otherwise.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported six people were killed Sunday morning in an Israeli strike in Maaroub, a village near the southern Lebanon's coastal city Tyre. Though Israel’s strikes over Beirut have calmed in recent days, its strike on southern Lebanon have intensified alongside a ground invasion it renewed after Hezbollah launched rockets toward Israel in the opening days of the Iran war.
Negotiations between Israel and Lebanon are expected to begin Tuesday in Washington, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s office has said, after Israel’s surprise announcement authorizing talks despite the lack of official relations between the countries. Protests erupted over the planned negotiations in Beirut on Saturday.
Israel wants Lebanon's government to assume responsibility for disarming Hezbollah, much like was envisaged in a November 2024 ceasefire. But the militant group has survived efforts to curb its strength for decades.
Hezbollah joined the war in support of Iran in the opening days. Israel followed with increased airstrikes and a ground invasion.
The day the Iran ceasefire deal was announced, Israel pounded Beirut with airstrikes, killing more than 300 people in the deadliest day in Lebanon since the war began, according to the country's Health Ministry.
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Metz reported from Ramallah, West Bank, and Finley from Washington. E. Eduardo Castillo in Beijing, Collin Binkley in Washington, Samy Magdy in Cairo and Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed.