By Ariba Shahid, Asif Shahzad and Parisa Hafezi
ISLAMABAD, April 12 (Reuters) – Talks between the United States and Iran appear to be over for now, Iran’s government said on Sunday morning after a series of talks in Pakistan https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/pakistani-five-star-hotel-becomes-unlikely-site-us-iran Six weeks of war between Washington and Tehran https://www.reuters.com/world/iran/ .
The talks in Islamabad were the first direct US-Iranian meeting in more than a decade and the highest level since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The outcome could determine the fate of a tenuous two-week ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for 20% of global energy supplies blocked by Iran since the war began. The conflict has driven up global oil prices and killed thousands of people.
In a post on X, Iran’s government said the talks had concluded after 14 hours and that technical experts from both sides would exchange documents.
“Despite some remaining differences, talks will continue,” the post added, though it did not say when they would resume.
Iran’s state television correspondent said the talks would continue on Sunday.
US Vice President J.D. Vance https://www.reuters.com/world/us/vance-warns-iran-not-play-us-he-leaves-talks-2026-04-10/, Special Envoy Steve Wittkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner two hours ago, Iranian Parliament Speaker Abbas, Foreign Minister Abbas Qalibak and Abbas’ Foreign Minister A. Respite, according to a source in the middle of Pakistan.
The Trump administration has not yet commented on whether talks have been concluded and what, if any, differences remain.
The Iranian delegation arrived on Friday dressed in black to commemorate the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and others killed in the war. They were carrying the shoes and bags of some of the students killed in the US bombing of school nL6N400164 next to the military compound, the Iranian government said. The Pentagon says the strike is under investigation, but Reuters https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-investigation-points-likely-us-responsibility-iran-school-strike-sources-say-2026-03-06/ reports that military investigators may hold the US responsible.
“There were mood swings from both sides and the temperature went up and down during the meeting,” another Pakistani source said, referring to the first round of talks.
Thousands of paramilitary forces and army troops were deployed on the streets of Islamabad, a city of more than two million people, for the US-Iran talks.
Pakistan’s mediating role is a marked change nL4N40J13V for a nation that had a diplomatic boycott a year ago.
Strait of Hormuz
The US military said it was “setting the terms” for the evacuation of the Strait of Hormuz after talks began.
The Strait of Hormuz is the focus of the ceasefire talks. The US military said two of its warships had passed through the strait and conditions had been set to clear the mines, while Iran’s state media denied US ships transited the waterway.
Before the talks began, a senior Iranian source told Reuters that the US had agreed to release nL1N40U035 assets deposited in Qatari and other foreign banks. A US official refused to agree to release the money.
In addition to releasing assets abroad, Tehran is demanding control of the Strait of Hormuz, payment of war reparations and a ceasefire in the region, including Lebanon, according to Iranian state TV and officials.
Tehran nL6N40U01E also wants to raise transit fees nL1N40Q0L0 in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump’s stated goals have changed, but at a minimum he wants free passage through the strait for global shipping and crippling Iran’s nuclear enrichment program to ensure it cannot produce a nuclear bomb.
US ally Israel, which joined the attack on Iran that started the war on February 28, is also bombing Tehran-backed Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon and says the war is not part of the Iran-US ceasefire.
Mutual distrust is high.
(Reporting by Reuters Bureau Worldwide; Writing by Idris Ali; Editing by Lisa Schumacher)
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