US and Iran fail to reach a deal after peace talks in Islamabad

The United States and Iran ended face-to-face talks on Sunday without an agreement to end the war, leaving a fragile two-week ceasefire in doubt.

US officials said the negotiations collapsed over what they described as Iran’s refusal to commit to abandoning its nuclear program, while Iranian officials blamed the US for talks breaking down without specifying the sticking points.

Neither side indicated what will happen after the 14-day ceasefire expires on April 22. Pakistani mediators urged all parties to maintain it. Both said their positions were clear and put the onus on the other side, underscoring how little the gap had narrowed throughout the talks.

Read moreIran sets 'preconditions' ahead of ceasefire talks as Vance warns Tehran not to 'play' US

“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 said after the 21-hour-long talks.

Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who led Iran in the negotiations, said Iran had made its position clear and it was time for the United States “to decide whether it can gain our trust or not".

He did not mention the core disputes in a series of social media posts, though Iranian officials earlier said the talks fell apart over two or three key issues, blaming what they called US overreach issues.

Iran has long denied seeking nuclear weapons but has insisted on its right to a civilian nuclear programme. Experts say its stockpile of enriched uranium, though not weapons-grade, is only a short technical step away.

Since the US and Israel launched the war on February 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 US in the coming days.

“It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to cease fire,” 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.

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.

Read moreUS-Iran ceasefire: Why Tehran wants to charge ships for crossing the Strait of Hormuz

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 US 15-point proposal included monitoring mechanisms and a rollback of Iran’s nuclear programme. Speaking on condition of anonymity as they weren’t authorised 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 US 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.

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 coastal city of Tyre. Though Israel’s strikes over Beirut have calmed in recent days, its attacks on southern Lebanon have intensified alongside a ground invasion it renewed after Hezbollah launched rockets towards 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 authorising talks despite the lack of official relations between the countries. Protests erupted in Beirut on Saturday over the planned negotiations. 

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.

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.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)