Overview
- Senior U.S. and Iranian delegations met in Islamabad under Pakistani mediation and, after roughly 21 hours of direct talks on Sunday, JD Vance said no agreement was reached and the U.S. team flew home.
- Vance said Tehran did not accept U.S. conditions and had not made a clear pledge to forswear nuclear weapons, while Iran’s spokesman said the gap was wide and urged Washington to drop what he called excessive demands.
- Iranian officials pressed for a Lebanon ceasefire and access to frozen assets, and they flagged sanctions relief and possible reparations as core issues that must be addressed before any broader deal.
- The Strait of Hormuz emerged as the flashpoint as U.S. Central Command said it began mine‑clearing and reported two warships transiting the chokepoint, which Iran denied while the Revolutionary Guard warned it would resist military passage.
- A two‑week ceasefire remains in place yet uncertain, with disputes over whether it covers Lebanon, and the talks—described in coverage as the highest‑level U.S.–Iran contact since 1979—exposed deep divides over Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, sanctions, and permanent access to Hormuz, a route that once carried about one‑fifth of global oil.