Tensions between the United States and Iran have reached another critical juncture. While a fragile ceasefire is holding, efforts to translate the nearly three-week truce into a permanent agreement appear to have stalled.Hopes of talks in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, over the weekend dissipated after US President Donald Trump cancelled a visit by his envoys as both Iran and the US remain steadfast in their respective demands, especially over Tehran’s nuclear programme and control of the Strait of Hormuz.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listIranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday blamed the US for the failure of the talks. “US approaches caused the previous round of negotiations, despite progress, to fail to reach its goals because of the excessive demands,” he said during a visit to Russia.Yet experts said the impasse reflects a slowdown in negotiations rather than a collapse, citing plenty of examples in history that illustrate how diplomacy is rarely linear but is often marked by deadlocks, setbacks and backdoor engagement.So where do the talks stand now, and what could come next?What is the current status of talks?Trump on Saturday told reporters in Florida that he scrapped a visit by his top diplomatic envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner to Pakistan because the talks involved too much travel and expense to consider an inadequate offer from the Iranians.The following day, Trump said Iran could telephone if it wanted to negotiate an end to the war that began on February 28 with the US-Israe …
