Live updates: Follow the latest news on Iran war
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said "excessive” demands from the US prevented an agreement from being reached during weekend talks in Islamabad, as the US imposed a blockade on Iranian ports.
The US has proposed a 20-year suspension of nuclear activity, while Iran countered with a plan to halt it for up to five years, similar to an offer made in February, The New York Times quoted sources as saying.
In a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Mr Pezeshkian said Iran remains ready to continue talks while protecting the rights of the Iranian people.
Iranian state media reported on Tuesday that there was continuing communication between Iran and Pakistan, quoting a diplomatic source. The source said there was no agreement yet on holding a new round of talks, either in Islamabad or elsewhere.
Mr Pezeshkian's remarks came after President Donald Trump said on Monday that Iran is still seeking a peace deal with the US after inconclusive talks at the weekend, as American naval forces imposed a blockade on Iranian ports to increase pressure on Tehran.
The Iranian President said diplomacy remains Iran’s "preferred path for resolving disputes”, while stressing Tehran’s readiness to defend its national interests if required.
"At the same time, Iran is fully prepared to face any scenario within the framework of its national interests,” he said, adding that Iran’s terms for the ceasefire have been clearly stated.
Failed talks in Pakistan
Last weekend's meeting in Pakistan's capital to try to resolve the conflict between the US and Iran, held four days after the announcement of a ceasefire, reached no breakthrough. It was the first direct encounter between US and Iranian officials in more than a decade, and the most senior engagement since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution.
Pakistani and Iranian officials said on Tuesday that negotiating teams from the US and Iran could return to Pakistan later this week to resume negotiations, Reuters reported.
A source who has been involved in the talks said a proposal had been sent to Washington and Tehran for the delegations to return to Islamabad. No date had yet been decided.
An official at the Iranian embassy in Islamabad said: "The coming rounds of talks can come sometime later this week or earlier next week. But nothing is finalised as of now.”
A senior Pakistani official told Reuters that Pakistan had reached out to Iran, "and we got a positive response that they will be open to a second round of talks”.
Mr Trump said on Monday at the White House that “we’ve been called this morning by the right people, and they want to work a deal”, without elaborating.
The Vice President, JD Vance, who led the US delegation in Pakistan, said there had been “a lot of progress” in the negotiations, but that the Iranian side had to go back to Tehran to “actually get approval for the terms that we had set”.
“We did make some progress in the negotiations,” he told Fox News. The question of holding further talks was “best put to the Iranians, because the ball really is in their court”, he added.
One of Washington's main objectives in the talks was to reach an agreement that ensures Iran does not develop nuclear weapons. Tehran's demands included the right to continue its nuclear programme, the lifting of US and UN sanctions, the return of frozen assets, reparations for damage caused by US-Israeli strikes and formal recognition of its control over the Strait of Hormuz – a vital shipping route for global energy supplies from the Middle East.
"The big question from here on out is whether the Iranians will have enough flexibility, whether the Iranians will accept the critical things that we need to see in order for things to get done,” Mr Vance said.
“We must have the enriched material out of Iran. We must have their conclusive commitment to not develop a nuclear weapon. If the Iranians are willing to meet us there, then this can be a very, very good deal for both countries.” Iran has said its nuclear programme was for civilian purposes and insisted it would not give it up.
A blocked Strait of Hormuz
Since the US and Israel began their war on Iran on February 28, Iran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz to nearly all vessels except its own, saying passage would be permitted only under Iranian control and subject to a fee. Nearly a fifth of global oil and gas supplies previously flowed through the narrow waterway, making the fall-out widespread.
In a countermeasure, the US military said it began blocking shipping traffic in and out of Iran's ports on Monday. Tehran has threatened to hit naval ships going through the strait and to retaliate against its Gulf neighbours' ports.
On Tuesday, a tanker under US sanctions abruptly changed course as it was getting close to the strait, in what appears to have been an attempt to avoid possible interception by US naval forces, a risk group said.
The Rich Starry reportedly signalled that it was travelling to China. According to maritime tracking information, the tanker initially began to travel through the strait despite the blockade, a de facto test of the American operation, Martin Kelly, head of advisory at the EOS risk group, wrote on X.
About an hour later, the vessel made a U-turn and returned north. It was the carrier's second attempt, having also tried and turned back on Monday. The Rich Starry was blacklisted by the US in 2023 for helping Iran evade energy sanctions.
The US naval blockade, announced after the talks in Pakistan, is directed at vessels sailing to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas. Tehran called it “an act of piracy”, despite having imposed its own blockade on the narrow waterway after the war began on February 28.
The US operation is expected to cut off about $150 million a day in oil revenue that Tehran relied on to finance its war and keep its economy afloat. About 20 per cent of global energy supplies pass through the strait, and its closure during the conflict has caused prices to soar.
