Iran Says Talks Pause After 15 Hours, To Resume Despite ‘Differences,’ While US Tight-Lipped

01:19 12.4.2026

WASHINGTON –Iran’s government said the third session of talks between the US and Iran ended in the early hours of April 12 in Islamabad and will continue later in the day despite “differences” between the two sides.

A senior White House official did not confirm to RFE/RL that the talks had ended for the first day, saying only, “15 hours and counting.” Sources told RFE/RL that the US delegation was still at the Serena Hotel negotiation site in Islamabad around 4 a.m., about an hour after Iranian sources said talks had been paused.

Some observers said it was possible the sides were still exchanging notes but that active face-to-face negotiations had ended shortly after 3 a.m.

The Iranian government, in a post on X, did not specify a time when the talks would resume in the Pakistani capital.

“With Pakistan’s proposal and the acceptance of the negotiating delegations of Iran and America, the continuation of negotiations with Pakistan’s mediation will proceed for one more round and after a pause on Sunday [April 12],” Iran’s government said in the post.

The Pakistani-hosted trilateral “in-person” negotiations played out in three sessions over about 15 hours, with occasional breaks taken by the delegations as negotiators looked to battle through several contentious issues in hopes of reaching a peace deal.

The specific points of contention were not immediately disclosed, but US President Donald Trump’s demands have focused on Iran allowing the free flow of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz and that it give up its supplies of enriched uranium that could be used to build a nuclear weapon.

Tehran has insisted it would have control of shipping traffic through the strait, that it retain its supplies of enriched uranium, and that it receive reparations for damages from the US-Israeli air strikes that began on February 28.

In addition, Tehran has said Israel must end its attacks on Iran-allied Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

The apparent face-to-face sessions mark the most significant contact by Washington and Tehran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The US formally broke relations with Iran in April 1980 and the two countries typically hold talks through intermediaries.

Meanwhile, Trump on April 12 said he was not concerned about whether a deal would be struck in Islamabad.

“Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me. The reason is because we’ve won,” Trump told reporters in Washington.

“We’re in very deep negotiations with Iran. We win regardless. We’ve defeated them militarily,” Trump said.

“We defeated their navy, we defeated their air force, we defeated their antiaircraft, we defeated their radar. We defeated their leaders. Their leaders are all dead…we’ll open up the Strait, even though we don’t use it, because we have a lot of other countries in the world that do use it, that are either afraid or weak…”

“Regardless what happens, we win. We totally defeated that country. And so let’s see what happens. Maybe they make a deal, maybe they don’t. From the standpoint of America, we win,” he said.

Earlier, the White House said that talks were “face-to-face” and involved “a suite of experts” as well as US Vice President JD Vance, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner.

With reporting by RFE/RL’s Alex Raufoglu

Source: trump-khamenei/33640284.html?lbis=4491631

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