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Islamabad Talks: What does the abrupt end mean for future negotiations?

By WTOP Staff
[audio wav="https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/jj-turn-1.wav" hide_author="true" hide_date="true" title="WTOP National Security Correspondent J.J. Green breaks down the Islamabad Talks."][/audio]

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Talks in Pakistan between American and Iranian representatives ended without an agreement after 21 hours of negotiations, leaving a two-week ceasefire in doubt.

Vice President JD Vance, who led the U.S. delegation in Islamabad, said talks came to a close after Iranian counterparts refused to agree to terms that stipulated Iran would cease its nuclear development efforts.

After the talks, Iranian ambassador to Pakistan, issued a statement saying the talks were not a one-off event, but the beginning of a “process.”

Not long after news broke of the stalemate, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. Navy would stop any vessel that attempts to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz.

WTOP National Security correspondent J.J. Green joined Sandy Kozel to discuss the latest development, and what it could mean for future negotiations.

The interview was lightly edited for clarity.

Iran attacks Bahrain and Kuwait following US strikes, threatens to end talks to end the war

By The Associated Press
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched drone and missile attacks Sunday targeting Bahrain and Kuwait in response to U.S. airstrikes that hit the Islamic Republic, and threatened a “complete halt” could come to negotiations to end the war if Washington continues its attacks. Efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf that once carried a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas, without Iran's direct oversight sparked the crossfire now gripping the region. A multinational maritime body overseen by the U.S. Navy said Saturday that it would expand a route near Oman in the Strait of Hormuz to allow for both inbound and outbound traffic — setting up a new flashpoint with Tehran. Iran insists it alone must govern the strait after the war, upending decades of the world considering that the strait was international waters free for all, despite its sitting in Iran and Oman's territorial waters. Tehran has twice attacked vessels going through the Oman route, backed by a United Nations agency, in recent days. Early Sunday, the U.S. military’s Central Command said it struck Iranian military “surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities and minelayer capabilities” following an attack on a ship at sea early Saturday morning. That ship, the Panamanian-flagged tanker Kiku, carried crude oil for the state-run energy company of Qatar, a key negotiator between Iran and the United States.
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Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claims Bahrain and Kuwait attacks and threatens 'complete halt' in talks with US
June 28, 2026

Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claims Bahrain and Kuwait attacks and threatens 'complete halt' in talks with US

Bahrain and Kuwait both say Iran targeted them with drone and missile fire overnight after new US airstrikes hit Iran