'Bad news': Iran and US peace talks end without deal

Iran and US leave Islamabad with no deal

The US and Iran failed to reach an agreement to end their war despite marathon talks that concluded on Sunday in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, jeopardising a fragile ceasefire.

Each side blamed the other for the failure of the 21-hour negotiations to end fighting that has killed thousands, roiled the global economy and sent oil prices soaring since it began more than six weeks ago.

"The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that's bad news for Iran much more than it's bad news for the United States of America," said Vice President JD Vance, the head of the US delegation.

"So we go back to the United States having not come to an agreement. We've made very clear what our red lines are."

Iran's Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad ​Baqer Qalibaf, who led his country's delegation along with Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, blamed the US for not winning Iran's trust despite his team offering "forward-looking initiatives".

"The U.S. has understood Iran's logic and principles and it's time for them to decide whether they can earn our trust or not," Qalibaf said on X.

Both the U.S. and Iranian delegations have now left Islamabad to return home, Pakistani sources told Reuters.

More than 2,000 dead in Lebanon 

A complicating factor has been Israel's assertion that the ceasefire does not affect Lebanon, where the Israeli military has launched strikes and a ground invasion in response to rocket fire from Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed movement. 

Lebanese authorities said Israeli strikes on the country's south on Saturday killed 18 people, bringing the death toll from Israel's operations since the war broke out past 2,000.

On Saturday, Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed a total of 18 people, according to the Ministry of Health, while the Israeli army announced that it had struck more than 200 Hezbollah targets in the past 24 hours.

Israel and Lebanon will hold their own talks next week in Washington. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that he wanted a peace deal with Lebanon that "will last for generations".

But Israel has ruled out a ceasefire with Hezbollah, signaling it will instead seek to pressure the historically weak central government in Beirut.

Strait of Hormuz 

At the heart of the talks is the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic passage for hydrocarbon supplies, which has been de facto blocked since the beginning of the conflict, with cascading consequences for the global economy, including shortages and price increases.

Iranian media reported that the American side had made "excessive" demands on this matter during the discussions.  

The US military stated on Saturday that two of its destroyers had transited the Strait of Hormuz in a preliminary operation to clear it of mines. "We're sweeping the strait," added Donald Trump.

Iran "strongly rejected" Washington's claims that US vessels entered the strait, military spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari told state TV.

"The initiative for the passage of any vessel lies with the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he was quoted as saying.

Iranian state broadcaster IRIB later quoted the Revolutionary Guards' Navy Command as saying: "Any attempt by military vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz will be dealt with severely."

It added that passage of the strait would only be "granted to civilian vessels under specific conditions."