Tarek Chouiref
12 April 2026•Update: 12 April 2026
Direct talks between Iran and the United States in Pakistan ended without an agreement after nearly 21 hours of negotiations, Iranian media reports said early Sunday.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency said the talks in Islamabad collapsed because of “excessive US demands” that prevented the two sides from reaching a common framework.
It said the Iranian delegation repeatedly offered new initiatives and proposals in an attempt to move the negotiations toward a common framework, but “the American spirit of excessive demands” prevented progress.
The agency added that Pakistan made efforts from early Sunday to arrange another round of talks and exchange draft texts, but the negotiations ultimately ended without results.
Tehran rejected the US demands related to the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s peaceful nuclear program and the removal of nuclear material from the country, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency.
It said Washington was seeking through negotiations “what it failed to achieve in war.”
The agency also reported that the US delegation appeared to be looking for a pretext to leave the negotiating table and was unwilling to reduce its demands despite the deadlock reached during the war with Iran.
No date or location has been announced for a new round of negotiations.
The Islamabad talks were seen as the most significant direct negotiations between Iran and the United States since 1979, and came amid a fragile two-week ceasefire announced earlier this week.
