The high-stakes talks between the United States (US) and Iran in Pakistan’s capital of Islamabad, aimed at easing tensions in the Middle East and open the Strait of Hormuz, failed on Sunday, leading to an uncertainty on what will happen next. As the two sides failed to arrive on a consensus, US Vice President JD Vance said Washington gave its ‘final and best’ offer, but the Iranians were unwilling to accept it.ย
Countering his claims, Iran said the talks failed due to ‘unreasonable’ demands put forth by the US, as it vowed to protect its national interests. Hours later, President Donald Trump, though, announced a naval blockade of all Iranian ports and coastal areas, raising the tensions in the region again.
Netanyahu’s phone call and derailment of talks
As negotiations failed, analysts and experts started dwelling on what could have been a reason for collapse of the talks, the focus shifted on Iran’s nuclear programme, on which even Vance in his press conference said that the US needs guarantees that Tehran will not seek a nuclear weapon. However, now Iran has claimed that talks were going on well, but it was call from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Vance that derailed the negotiations.
“Netanyahu’s call to Vance during the meeting shifted the focus from US-Iran negotiations to Israel’s interests. The US tried to achieve at the negotiating table what it could not achieve through war,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said, while making the allegations.ย
Further blaming Israel for the derailment of talks, the Iranian foreign minister said Tehran entered talks with the US with “good faith” for a first in 47 years aiming to end the war but now has encounter “maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade”.
“In intensive talks at highest level in 47 years, Iran engaged with U.S in good faith to end war. But when just inches away from “Islamabad MoU”, we encountered maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade. Zero lessons earned. Good will begets good will. Enmity begets enmity,” he said on X.ย ย
Naval blockade and increase in oil prices
With the failure of the talks, the US military has said it will start the naval blockade of Iranian ports from Monday. The move immediately had implications on the market, with oil prices rising 8 per cent to USD 104.24 a barrel in early market trading. Similarly, Brent crude oil, the international standard, increased 7 per cent to USD 102.29.
Since the beginning of the conflict in the Middle East in February, Brent crude oil has increased from USD 70 per barrel to more than USD 119 at times. On Friday, before the talks started, Brent for June delivery fell 0.8 per cent to USD 95.20 per barrel.
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