Pakistan talks collapse over Iran’s nuclear program, Hormuz and Lebanon, sources say

# Pakistan talks collapse over Iran’s nuclear program, Hormuz and Lebanon, sources say

Talks between the United States and Iran in Islamabad ended without agreement on the event date of 2026-04-12 after disputes over Lebanon, the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran’s nuclear program, according to MENA via The New Arab.

The report says US Vice President JD Vance described the negotiations as having failed after Washington presented what he called its “final and best offer.” That framing makes clear that the talks reached a decisive point rather than simply pausing for more discussion. It also suggests that the United States believed it had put forward its maximum acceptable terms.

The source says Pakistani officials and regional sources saw the main obstacles as Iran’s nuclear program, missile program and the future of Lebanon in any deal. The Strait of Hormuz was also a central sticking point, because Washington wanted immediate reopening of the waterway while postponing more detailed negotiations over how it would be managed.

Lebanon appears to have been especially difficult to separate from the wider talks. According to the report, one source said the U.S. delegation rejected including Lebanon in any potential deal with Iran and instead sought to hand the issue to Israel. That would have left the Lebanon file outside the broader bargain, something Tehran reportedly resisted because of its support for Hezbollah and its regional influence.

The report also says the U.S. pushed Iran to discuss its missile program, but Tehran refused. On the nuclear side, Vance said the talks centered on whether Iran would make a firm commitment not to pursue a nuclear weapon or the means to build one quickly. The source adds that Iran has repeatedly said it does not seek a nuclear weapon.

Because this account is built around official comments and regional sourcing, it should be treated as a snapshot of a failed round rather than a full transcript of the negotiations. Still, the structure of the dispute is clear: nuclear constraints, missile limits, maritime access and the Lebanon question were not reconciled.

The talks’ collapse matters because it shows how difficult it remains to separate regional security issues into neat compartments. The parties were not just arguing about uranium enrichment or missile capabilities; they were also fighting over whether Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz belonged inside the same deal. That broader disagreement appears to have stopped the process in Islamabad before it could produce any compromise.

For now, the best-supported conclusion is that the negotiations ended in failure, with major gaps remaining over nuclear policy, maritime control and Lebanon’s place in any settlement.