Before U.S. negotiators could depart for a second round of face-to-face talks with Iran, hopes for a quick diplomatic breakthrough collapsed when the Iranian regime failed to return messages seen as critical to setting the stage for a deal, multiple officials and sources tell ABC News.
In the days before the two-week ceasefire between the countries was set to end, U.S. officials say they floated a list of broad points they hoped Iranian officials would approve before a second meeting in Islamabad. Both sides had been exchanging messages and proposals, but as the deadline approached, communication began to lag. By Tuesday afternoon, with hours left before the ceasefire expired, Iran had not submitted a response to the administration’s list or provided any assurance it would send a high-level delegation, sources said.
Air Force Two — prepared to transport Vice President JD Vance to Pakistan — sat empty on a Joint Base Andrews tarmac for hours. The government plane planned for special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner was redirected to Washington so the three could meet with the president and senior advisers at the White House. Officials briefed on the meeting said it quickly became clear the talks could not proceed as planned, but Trump chose to give diplomacy more time.
Just after 4 p.m., Trump announced on his social media platform he had extended the ceasefire until Iran’s “seriously fractured” government could submit “a unified proposal” and “discussions are concluded, one way or the other.” The Trump administration believes internal fractures among Iran’s leadership explain the lack of response and has viewed concerns about the regime’s ability to unify behind any U.S. agreement as an undercurrent in negotiations since the outbreak of war.
Sources say major gaps remain between the sides on key issues, especially Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, whether Iran would be allowed to enrich uranium in the future, and under what conditions. Pakistan has emerged as the lead mediator, but a Pakistani official told ABC News the outstanding differences between U.S. and Iranian positions appear insurmountable.
Trump administration officials say a deal is still possible and that the U.S. is awaiting Iran’s counterproposal. Trump has not specified how long the ceasefire will be extended, and the White House declined to set a public deadline. “Look, I think President Trump ultimately will dictate the timeline, and he will do so when he feels is in the best interest of the United States and the American people,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Trump also suggested the ongoing U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports would pressure the regime. “The blockade scares them even more than the bombing,” he told Fox News. “They’ve been bombed for years but the blockade, they hate.”
ABC’s Mary Bruce, Isabella Murray, Michelle Stoddart and Emily Chang contributed to this report.