Negotiating teams from the US and Iran could return to Islamabad this week to continue talks, following a lack of breakthrough in their last meeting.
A Pakistani official stands during the arrival of the US Vice President JD Vance for talks with Iranian officials in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, April 11, 2026.(photo credit: Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via REUTERS)ByREUTERS, JERUSALEM POST STAFFAPRIL 14, 2026 10:36Updated: APRIL 14, 2026 11:11
Negotiating teams from the US and Iran could return to Islamabad this week, four sources said on Tuesday, days after the highest-level talks between the two countries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution ended in the Pakistani capital without a breakthrough.
On Monday, US President Donald Trump said Iran had called that morning and that “they’d like to work a deal.” Reuters could not immediately verify the assertion.
US Vice President JD Vance said that the previous peace talks between the US and Iran, which took place over the weekend, had ended as a result of the Iranian team’s lack of approval to cut a deal, and that it’s up to Iran to take the next step in negotiations on Monday evening.
Among the slew of issues at stake last weekend was the Strait of Hormuz, a major transit point for global energy supplies that Iran has effectively blocked, but the US has vowed to reopen, as well as Iran’s nuclear program and international sanctions on Tehran.
During the negotiations, the US made clear that it would need to take possession of the enriched uranium Iran has in its possession, and that mechanisms would need to be put in place to ensure that Iran would be unable to enrich uranium again, Vance said.
Breakthrough in talks?
“Those are really the two things where, frankly, the Iranians, I think, did make some progress,” Vance said.
Vance also said, regarding the Strait of Hormuz, “It was one of the things where the Iranians tried to move the goalposts during the negotiation.”
A US source said the Iranians did not properly understand that the core US aim was to have a deal that ensured Iran would never obtain a nuclear weapon. Among Iran’s concerns was a distrust of US intentions.
“There was a strong hope in the middle of the talks that there would be a breakthrough and the two sides would reach an agreement. However, things changed within no time,” a Pakistani government source said.
Another source involved in the talks said the parties came “very close” to an agreement and were “80% there” before running into decisions that could not be settled on the spot.
Danya Saperstein contributed to this report.
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