The meeting followed a two-week ceasefire that paused nearly 40 days of intense hostilities and briefly opened a narrow window for diplomacy. Held in Pakistan, a key regional mediator, the talks marked the highest-level face-to-face engagement between the United States and Iran since 1979, a relationship long defined by decades of sanctions, periodic confrontation, and deep mistrust.

Analysts said the failure to reach an agreement underscores entrenched structural divisions between the two sides, while noting that the very fact that the talks took place signals limited but meaningful diplomatic progress.

They added that domestic political pressures, economic risks linked to potential instability in the Middle East, and signs of growing war fatigue may continue to encourage both sides to keep diplomatic channels open despite the current deadlock.

Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad on Sunday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said he was returning “without an agreement,” adding that Iran had not accepted U.S. terms despite what he described as “a good-faith engagement.”

Vance said the Iranian nuclear program remained at the center of the dispute, reiterating that Washington requires an “affirmative commitment” from Tehran not to pursue nuclear weapons or the capability to rapidly develop them. Iran, however, has consistently maintained that its uranium enrichment activities are a sovereign right and has rejected externally imposed restrictions.

Iranian officials, in turn, blamed the impasse on what they described as “excessive and unreasonable demands” from the United States, arguing that Washington’s conditions failed to respect Iran’s “legitimate rights,” including enrichment activities and meaningful sanctions relief.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said that while the two sides had reached understandings on several issues, they remained far apart on two to three key points, preventing a final agreement.

Despite the lack of a breakthrough, Tehran signaled that dialogue could continue. Quoted by Iran’s Mehr News Agency, Baghaei said it would be unrealistic to expect a deal in a single round of talks, adding that Tehran remained “confident that contacts between us and Pakistan and our other friends in the region will continue.”

Pakistani security analyst Tughral Yamin noted that Pakistan had provided a platform for dialogue rather than a venue for a final settlement, suggesting the Islamabad talks may represent only an initial step in a longer diplomatic process.

For Pakistan, which facilitated the negotiations, officials indicated their role was far from over. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar said Islamabad would continue to play a constructive role in supporting engagement between Iran and the United States in the days ahead.

In the early hours of Saturday, a 71-member Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Islamabad. Later that day, a much larger U.S. delegation headed by Vance also reached the Pakistani capital, with the American side numbering around 300 people.

Before formal negotiations began, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting with the Iranian side, during which Tehran laid out several preconditions for engaging with Washington, including the unfreezing of all Iranian overseas assets and accounts and an immediate halt to all attacks, particularly those targeting Lebanon. Iranian officials have repeatedly stressed that stopping strikes on Lebanon is an integral component of any broader ceasefire arrangement.

However, the fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran has been further complicated by continued Israeli strikes against Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group in Lebanon.

On Saturday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the elimination of Hezbollah was a precondition for any ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon.

Tensions also flared during more than 20 hours of negotiations over developments in the Strait of Hormuz.

The United States announced on Saturday that two U.S. Navy destroyers had passed through the strategic waterway, a claim Iran denied, saying its forces had forced the vessels to withdraw.

Analysts believed that the unsuccessful talks highlight the persistence of deep strategic divisions between the two sides, stressing that the gap is not merely tactical but structural.

The positions of both countries are highly divergent, with maximalist demands that remain far apart and are further complicated by deep-rooted mistrust, former Pakistani diplomat Masood Khalid said.

This divergence is reflected across multiple core issues. According to another former Pakistani diplomat, Naghmana Hashmi, the impasse centers on several key areas: the control of the Strait of Hormuz, the nuclear issue where both sides maintain hardline positions, military arrangements including Iran’s demand for a U.S. withdrawal from the region, compensation claims for damages suffered by Iran, sanctions relief — particularly frozen assets — and the situation in Lebanon.

Addressing these complexities remains a formidable challenge, as Mohamed Benaya, an expert on Iranian and Gulf affairs at Al-Azhar University in Egypt, said that “bridging these gaps will be difficult without phased, reciprocal concessions.”

Despite these significant hurdles, analysts believe that the mere occurrence of these talks signifies progress.

Hashmi observed that both parties’ willingness to remain at the negotiating table indicates a “positive mindset” focused on finding a solution, adding that the priority now is to maintain diplomatic momentum.

Khalid echoed this sentiment, suggesting that in the current high-tension climate, the fact that dialogue happened at all is an achievement in itself.

Looking ahead, analysts said that a combination of domestic and global pressures may push the dialogue to continue despite the deadlock.

Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, former Pakistani ambassador to the United States, noted that for U.S. President Donald Trump, the risks of a prolonged military confrontation and its potential fallout on upcoming midterm elections create a strong incentive for diplomacy.

Furthermore, experts said long-term economic risks, specifically the threat of instability in the Middle East disrupting global energy markets and trade flows, have strengthened international calls for de-escalation.

Battlefield dynamics may also be shaping diplomatic calculations. Said Nazir, a Pakistani defense analyst, pointed to growing “war fatigue” on both sides after weeks of confrontation and demonstrations of military capability, saying this could push Washington and Tehran to avoid a costly, open-ended conflict by keeping diplomatic channels open.

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It issued the warning in a post on social media platform X, sharing “drone surveillance footage of the real situation in the Strait of Hormuz.”

The IRGC’s Navy said all movements and non-movements in the Strait of Hormuz are under complete control of the Iranian armed forces, adding that, “Any erroneous maneuver will trap the enemy in deadly whirlpools in the strait.”

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Saturday that two U.S. warships transited the Strait of Hormuz and began mine-clearing operations in the Gulf. Iran’s main military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, rejected that account, “strongly” denying CENTCOM’s claim that American vessels had entered the strait.

In an exclusive report on Sunday, Iran’s state-run Press TV said the U.S. military’s attempt to sail two destroyers through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday “ended as a failed propaganda stunt timed to coincide with (Tehran-Washington) talks in Islamabad.”

The Press TV identified the U.S. destroyers as USS Michael Murphy and USS Frank E. Peterson, saying they were forced to retreat by Iran’s naval forces.

Also on Sunday, the IRGC said in a statement that any military vessels that intend to approach the Strait of Hormuz under any title or pretext will be considered a ceasefire violation and will be dealt with severely.

On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran’s then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and U.S. assets in the Middle East, and tightened control over the Strait of Hormuz by restricting passage by vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States.

A two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States took effect on Wednesday, followed by the holding of lengthy talks between the Iranian and U.S. delegations in Islamabad, which failed to lead to an agreement.

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“Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

“I have also instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran,” Trump continued, adding that “no one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas.”

“We will also begin destroying the mines the Iranians laid in the Straits,” he added.

On peace talks, Trump said that the meeting “went well,” with most points agreed to, but “the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not.”

Trump’s remarks came a few hours after U.S.-Iran talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, concluded without a deal on Sunday.

After Trump’s statement on Strait of Hormuz naval blockade, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy Command warned Sunday that any “wrong move” in the Strait of Hormuz would trap its enemies in “deadly whirlpools.”

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The blockade, in accordance with U.S. President Donald Trump’s proclamation, will be enforced “impartially” against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, according to the statement, which was posted on social media platform X.

U.S. Central Command forces “will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports,” it added.

The statement came a few hours after Trump announced on Truth Social that the U.S. Navy would begin blocking ships trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz.

In an interview with Fox News, Trump said that the United States and allied countries would deploy minesweepers to the strait to clear sea mines and secure shipping lanes.

After Trump’s statement on Strait of Hormuz naval blockade, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy Command warned Sunday that any “wrong move” in the Strait of Hormuz would trap its enemies in “deadly whirlpools.” ■

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“If the enemy seeks to take any action on the ground in Iranian islands or any other location in our lands, or inflict any cost on Iran through naval movements in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman, we will open other battlefronts against it as a surprise so that its actions will not only fail to be beneficial, but will also double its costs,” Tasnim quoted a military source as saying.

The source said, “We constantly monitor the preparations in and developments of the enemy’s front and keep them under surveillance.”

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is among the world’s strategic waterways, and Iran has the will and capability to produce completely credible threats against it, the source added. The developments come as the Pentagon is reportedly expected to send thousands of soldiers from the U.S. Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East.

On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran’s then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians.

Iran responded by launching waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and U.S. bases and assets in the Middle East. Iran also exercised tight control over the Strait of Hormuz by denying safe passage to vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States.

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Israel’s Channel 12 cited informed sources Tuesday reporting that U.S. President Donald Trump’s advisors Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are advancing a proposal to immediately pause hostilities, with a 30-day window to finalize a 15-point agreement aimed at ending the ongoing conflict.

THE 15-POINT PLAN

The U.S. proposal reportedly demands that Iran dismantle its nuclear capabilities, cease all uranium enrichment, and provide a permanent commitment to never seeking nuclear weapons. Tehran would also need to end the funding and arming of allied groups in the region and ensure the Strait of Hormuz remains an open international waterway. Additionally, Iran must limit its missile production and restrict future use strictly to self-defense. In exchange, Washington offers full sanctions relief, assistance in developing a civilian nuclear energy project at southern Iran’s Bushehr, home to the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, and the removal of the “snapback” mechanism threat that enables the reimposition of previously lifted UN sanctions on Iran.

THE UNITED STATES

On the reported plan, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that elements of the reports were not fully accurate, but she did not provide further details. “The White House never confirmed that full plan. There are elements of truth to it, but some of the stories I read were not entirely factual,” Leavitt said.

IRAN

Iran has reviewed the U.S. 15-point plan, and sees it as “excessive,” several media outlets reported Wednesday, citing Iran’s state-run Press TV. Iran will continue its military operations until its own conditions are met, and will end the war “at a time of its own choosing,” according to the reports.Earlier, Iran has repeatedly denied any negotiations with the United States.

Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman of Iran’s main military command Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, rejected any talks with the United States, stressing that the country will not come to terms with Washington. He urged the United States to stop disguising its defeat as “an agreement,” adding, “the strategic power the enemies would brag about has turned into a strategic defeat.” Whether the situation can return to what it was in the past will depend on Iran’s will, he said, adding that normalcy will only be restored when the United States completely erases the thought of “taking actions against the Iranian nation” from its mind.

ISRAEL

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an opponent of any deal with Iran, has not officially commented on the plan, but said Israel’s military campaign against Iran “is still in full swing, contrary to what is being reported in the media.” The Israeli military said Wednesday it struck and significantly damaged a research and development facility for submarines and underwater systems in Iran’s Isfahan on Tuesday and launched two waves of large-scale airstrikes on government sites in Tehran.

GERMANY

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Wednesday welcomed the diplomatic effort and said he hoped the talks would be given a chance to succeed, according to Reuters. “It is commendable that the U.S. President has postponed his ultimatum to the Iranian regime for a few days and is now seeking negotiations,” Wadephul said in Berlin. He urged Iran to act wisely and respond to the U.S. initiative. “So, if there is a window of opportunity for diplomacy, we should definitely give talks a chance.”

THE UNITED NATIONS

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday urged the United States and Israel to end the war against Iran and called on Iran to stop attacking its neighbors. Speaking to reporters on the situation in the Middle East, Guterres said his message to the United States and Israel is that “it is high time to end the war — as human suffering deepens, civilian casualties mount, and the global economic impact is increasingly devastating.” “My message to Iran is to stop attacking their neighbors that are not parties to the conflict,” the UN chief said.

The latest development comes amid escalating regional tensions sparked by joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran starting on Feb. 28, which killed Iran’s then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded by launching waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and U.S. bases and assets in the Middle East.

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