Overview
- Following roughly 21 hours of direct talks in Islamabad on Sunday, US and Iranian negotiators left without a deal in their highest‑level contact since 1979.
- Hours after the Sunday breakdown, President Donald Trump said the US Navy would begin blockading the Strait of Hormuz and interdict ships that paid Iran transit fees, with the truce still in place for now.
- Both sides blamed each other as gaps over Iran’s nuclear program, authority over Hormuz transit, and access to frozen assets blocked progress, with Washington demanding verifiable renunciation of any nuclear weapon pursuit.
- The United Nations urged continued talks, protection of freedom of navigation, and preservation of the ceasefire, while Pakistan said it would keep mediating between the two sides.
- The stakes are global and local: Hormuz carries about one‑fifth of seaborne oil, and reporting from Tehran describes factory shutdowns, job losses, and rising prices as experts warn the pause could give way to renewed fighting and maritime confrontation.