US-Iran Peace Hopes Fade As Trump Scraps Talks

By Saad Sayeed, Ariba Shahid and Steve Holland

ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) – Hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough in the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran faded on Sunday, as efforts to revive talks stalled and both Tehran and Washington showed little sign of softening their positions.

While Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi continued to shuttle between mediating countries over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump scrapped a visit to Islamabad by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

U.S. forces removed security equipment from the Pakistani capital, Pakistani government sources said, signalling that any U.S. delegation was unlikely to return for talks soon.

Although a ceasefire has paused full?scale fighting in the conflict, which began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, no agreement has been reached on terms to end a war that has killed thousands, driven up oil prices, fuelled inflation and darkened the outlook for global growth.

Tehran has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, while Washington has imposed a blockade of Iran’s ports.

IRAN SAYS U.S. SHOULD REMOVE MARITIME BLOCKADE

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif by phone that Tehran would not enter “imposed negotiations” under threats or blockade, according to a statement from the Iranian government.

He said the United States should first remove obstacles, including its maritime blockade, before negotiators could begin laying the groundwork for a settlement.

Araqchi nevertheless described his visit to mediator Pakistan as “very fruitful.” After leaving Islamabad he flew to Oman – another mediator in the war – where he held talks about the war with the country’s leader, Haitham bin Tariq al-Said.

The two sides discussed security in the Strait of Hormuz and Araqchi called for a regional security framework free of outside interference, according to an Iranian foreign ministry statement.

He was due to return to Pakistan on Sunday, before heading to Russia, Iranian news agencies reported.

Speaking in Florida before being rushed out of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, Trump said he cancelled his envoys’ visit due to too much travel and expense for what he considered an inadequate Iranian offer. 

Iran “offered a lot, but not enough,” Trump said.

An earlier round of talks in Islamabad – in which Vice President JD Vance led the U.S. delegation opposite Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf – ended without agreement.

After the latest diplomatic trip was called off, two U.S. Air Force C-17s carrying security staff, equipment and vehicles used to protect U.S. officials flew out of Pakistan, two Pakistani government sources told Reuters on Sunday.

TRUMP SAYS IRAN’S LEADERSHIP IN DISARRAY

On Truth Social, Trump wrote that there was “tremendous infighting and confusion” within Iran’s leadership.

“Nobody knows who is in charge, including them,” he posted. “Also, we have all the cards, they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!”

Pezeshkian said last week there were “no hardliners or moderates” in Tehran and that the country stood united behind its supreme leader. 

The war has destabilised the Middle East – Iran has struck its Gulf neighbours and conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon has been reignited. 

Israel’s military issued new evacuation orders for southern Lebanon on Sunday, ordering residents to leave seven towns beyond the “buffer zone” it occupied before a ceasefire that has failed to bring a full halt to hostilities.

(Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Lisa Shumaker and Ros Russell; Editing by Deepa Babington, Alison Williams and Aidan Lewis)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026.

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This article contains reporting from Reuters, published under license.

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