U.S.–Iran talks fail
Historic face‑to‑face talks between U.S. and Iranian delegations in Pakistan ended without a deal, and the U.S. has signalled it may begin preventing ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz now that diplomacy stalled. The American team was led by Vice‑President J.D. Vance while Iran sent senior figures including Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Abbas Araghchi, but Islamabad produced no agreement. President Trump has warned of fresh strikes if talks failed and has framed the outcome in terms of a U.S. advantage regardless of a formal deal (cnn.com) (theguardian.com) (pbs.org) (fortune.com).
The United States and Iran ended 21 hours of face-to-face talks in Islamabad on April 12 without a deal, and both delegations left Pakistan. (apnews.com) Vice President J.D. Vance led the American side with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner beside him. Iran sent Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi for the highest-level direct meeting between the two countries since 1979. (abcnews.go.com) (pbs.org) Vance said the talks failed because Washington wanted an “affirmative commitment” that Iran would not seek a nuclear weapon or the means to build one quickly. Iranian outlets and officials said American “excessive demands” blocked an agreement at a first meeting. (abcnews.go.com) (aljazeera.com) The collapse leaves in place only a two-week ceasefire announced earlier in April, with no new diplomatic roadmap after Islamabad. Associated Press reported that truce is set to expire on April 22. (apnews.com) The Strait of Hormuz sits at the center of the dispute because it is the narrow sea lane between the Persian Gulf and the open ocean. Before the war, about 20% of global oil shipping moved through that route, making any threat there an immediate energy-market risk. (apnews.com) After the talks failed, President Donald Trump said the United States Navy would “immediately” begin blocking ships entering or leaving the strait and would interdict vessels that paid what he called an illegal Iranian toll. He told Fox News the policy would be “all or none.” (apnews.com) Iran’s Revolutionary Guard answered that the strait remained under Iran’s “full control” and open to non-military vessels, while warning military ships would face a “forceful response.” That exchange left both sides publicly claiming authority over the same waterway hours after diplomacy broke down. (apnews.com) The failure in Islamabad also comes after six weeks of war and during continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, which Iranian negotiators had treated as a red line around the ceasefire. Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli airstrikes killed 90 people on April 11, pushing the death toll there above 2,000. (abc.net.au) Trump had previewed the pressure campaign before the meeting, saying fresh strikes were possible if diplomacy failed and portraying the outcome as favorable to Washington even without a signed agreement. Vance left Islamabad saying the United States had presented its “final and best offer” and would now wait to see whether Tehran accepts it. (fortune.com) (cnbc.com)
