US–Iran Talks Collapse Again as Hormuz Standoff Deepens

Diplomatic efforts to end the US–Iran war hit a fresh wall on Saturday when President Donald Trump abruptly cancelled a planned trip by senior envoys to Pakistan, where Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had arrived hoping for indirect talks. Trump said Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would be wasting "too much time," and took to Truth Social to declare that Iran need only "call" if it wanted to negotiate.

The cancellation came hours after Araghchi met Pakistani mediators in Islamabad and shared Tehran's proposed framework for ending hostilities. He said Iran had yet to see whether Washington was "truly serious about diplomacy." A ceasefire due to expire on 22 April had been extended to allow negotiations to continue, but no breakthrough has materialized.

At the heart of the standoff is the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of global oil supplies pass. Iran restricted transit through the strategic waterway after the US and Israel began strikes in February; Washington responded by boosting its naval presence to block Iranian oil exports. Two container ships under IRGC control were reported anchored near the strait. With talks stalled and both sides projecting confidence, the risk of renewed full-scale conflict remains real, and energy markets continue to be rattled by the uncertainty.