Fragile ceasefire in effect as Iran-US talks in Islamabad end without breakthrough

Iran Press TV

Monday, 13 April 2026 5:49 AM

By Press TV Website Staff

The failure of Iran-US talks in Islamabad on Sunday due to maximalist American demands set the tone for a tense and uncertain day.

Iranian officials described the discussions as “intensive” and conducted in good faith. Still, they said the negotiations stalled when Washington shifted its demands at the last moment, including a proposal requiring Iran to permanently dismantle its peaceful nuclear program, a condition Tehran rejected as exceeding the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The deadlock, as reported by US media, has left the Trump administration facing a stark choice: enter a prolonged and complex diplomatic process, or resume a war that has already shaken global energy markets and raised the risk of confrontation in the Strait of Hormuz.

As the diplomatic impasse deepened, military tensions escalated. US President Donald Trump announced plans to blockade maritime traffic at Iranian ports beginning April 13, a move Iran’s Armed Forces warned would violate the existing ceasefire.

Iran said the US attempt to send destroyers through the Strait of Hormuz had already failed, as reported first by Press TV. At the same time, senior Iranian officials reiterated that the country would defend its rights, from Hormuz to wartime reparations.

Regional anxieties rose further as Yemeni authorities warned of global economic consequences from any new US escalation, and European leaders stressed that any meaningful ceasefire must extend to Lebanon.

Amid the widening standoff, Iran signaled that its position remains unchanged: negotiations can continue, but only within a framework that respects sovereignty, regional security, and the commitments already outlined by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Key developments on day 44 of the war, fourth day of the ceasefire:

• As the Islamabad talks between Iran and the US failed, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Washington failed to win Tehran’s trust during negotiations in Pakistan seeking a conclusive end to the US-Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic.
• Qalibaf said the Iranian nation has proved it does not bend to US threats, warning that the country was prepared to “teach a greater lesson” if confronted again.
• Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi said the United States’ “maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade” derailed what was just inches away from becoming the “Islamabad MoU,” as high-level talks between the two countries failed to produce a breakthrough after 21 hours of intensive negotiations.
• Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said no one had expected the talks to reach an agreement in one session after the negotiations in Islamabad failed on Sunday. “Naturally, from the beginning, we should not have expected to reach an agreement in a single session. No one had such an expectation,” Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said.
• US Vice President JD Vance said he spoke with President Donald Trump “a half dozen times, a dozen times,” during 21 hours of talks with Iran.
• The New York Times reported that the deadlock in negotiations has cornered the administration of Donald Trump, leaving it with only two costly paths: either commit to a long, complex bargaining process with Tehran over Iran’s nuclear program, or return to a war that has already triggered one of the most severe energy disruptions of the modern era and heightened the risk of a direct clash over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
• Vance said Washington had put forward a proposal requiring Iran to permanently and completely shut down its nuclear program, a demand Tehran rejected as an infringement on rights guaranteed under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
• Reports stated that one of Washington’s biggest fears, according to US officials, is becoming entangled in another long, grinding negotiation with Iran.
• President Masoud Pezeshkian and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed how to boost security and stability in the West Asia region.
• The US military’s attempt to sail two destroyers through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday ended as a failed propaganda stunt timed to coincide with talks in Islamabad, a Press TV investigation found.
• Trump said the United States Navy will begin blockading the Strait of Hormuz “immediately” after peace talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan failed.
• The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that it will begin implementing a blockade “of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports” on April 13, starting at 10 am EST (15:00 GMT), “in accordance with the President’s proclamation”.
• The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) warned that any attempt by military vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz will be deemed a violation of the two-week ceasefire with the United States.
• Qalibaf, responding to Trump’s threat to “blockade” the Strait of Hormuz, addressed Americans, “Enjoy the current price of gasoline. With the so-called ‘blockade’ you threaten, you will soon be longing for the days of four- and five-dollar fuel.”
• Yemeni officials warned that any renewed American escalation, on land or at sea, would further destabilise global supply chains, energy markets, and the world economy.
• IRGC Quds Force Commander General Esmail Qaani vowed that the US and Israel will be expelled from the region “without any achievements” like they had been driven from the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb Strait by Yemen.
• Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said Tehran will stand firm on defending national rights from the Strait of Hormuz to pursuing compensation for the damage caused by the US-Israeli war against the country.
• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron said that any ceasefire in West Asia must include Lebanon.
• The Handala hacking group carried out a significant and successful cyber operation targeting the United Arab Emirates’ critical infrastructure.