Summary:
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US-Iran peace talks have broken down over Iran’s commitment to no nuclear weapons, Vance said “it’s bad news for Iran, much more than for the US.“
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CENTCOM confirms two mine-sweepers are clearing the Strait, Iran claims it turned the warships back.
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President Trump announces start of “clearing out the Strait” as a favor to the rest of the world.
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Peace talks in Pakistan begin in indirect format, led by Vance and on Iran side – Ghalibaf, Arachchi – expected to continue tomorrow
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Saturday sees more Israeli strikes on Lebanon, with Hezbollah supporting Pakistan talks but rejecting ‘separate deal’ directly with Israel.
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Trump on talks and potential bigger future attacks on Iran: “You don’t need a backup plan” as Iran’s “military is defeated”.
Yes 31% · No 70%
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VP Vance Departs Pakistan After Failing To Read Deal With Iran
Talks between the United States and Iran ended early Sunday without a peace agreement after Tehran refused to accept key US demands, including commitments on its nuclear program, US officials said.
US Vice President JD Vance said the 21-hour negotiations concluded without a breakthrough, despite good-faith efforts by Washington.
“We have not reached an agreement, and I think it’s bad news for Iran, much more than for the US,” Vance said
🇺🇸❌🇮🇷 Vance: “We have not reached an agreement, and I think it’s bad news for Iran, much more than for the US”
This appears to be the predictable result of dispatching a negotiating team composed primarily of two pro-Israel assets (Kushner + Witkoff) and a novelist (Hillbilly… pic.twitter.com/6h72t46aEV
— MCDC25 (@25_mcdc) April 12, 2026
“But the simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon,” Vance said, adding that the proposal presented was the administration’s “final and best offer.”
Vice President JD Vance gives an update in Pakistan:
“The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon.” pic.twitter.com/il4THN5DwV
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 12, 2026
The talks marked the third round of direct, face-to-face negotiations between the two sides, taking place days after a fragile two-week ceasefire was announced in the conflict that has entered its seventh week.
Iran has no plans for a new round of talks with the US, Fars news agency reports, citing a source close to the negotiating team.
“The American team was looking for an excuse to leave the negotiating table,” it adds.
The only market showing any notable impact is crypto with BTC retracing some of the post-ceasefire gains…
The odds of a peace deal by the end of the two-week ceasefire just plunged…
Talks Continue, Hormuz Remains Key Point of Contention
Iranian media are striking a cautiously optimistic tone on the progress of the talks.
They say there was progress on implementation of the ceasefire in Lebanon, technical negotiations that went beyond generalities and now an exchange of texts that would put any progress in writing.
To be sure, the US side has been much quieter, and sticking points may come into focus once they’re in black and white.
Teams of experts joined the main negotiators after about an hour, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
Those technical discussions in Islamabad focused on the Strait of Hormuz, a potential ceasefire extension and phased sanctions relief. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency says, citing its reporter at the venue.
“The issue of the Strait of Hormuz is one of the points facing serious disagreement”, adding that the US delegation “hindered progress” during the text-exchange stage with “its usual excessive demands”
Talks have reportedly mostly avoided the core issues that the Trump administration said drove it to war, according to a US official and a Pakistani official familiar with the matter.
Those issues include Iran’s support for armed proxies, and the nuclear and missile programs that were at the heart of Trump’s stated reasons for attacking Iran beginning Feb. 28.
“We have goodwill, but we do not have trust,” Ghalibaf told reporters after arriving in Islamabad, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency.
“In the upcoming negotiations, if the American side is prepared for a genuine agreement and to grant the rights of the Iranian nation, they will see readiness for an agreement from us as well.”
Tasnim said that Tehran’s 71-member delegation also included the Islamic Republic’s central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati.
Also on the agenda will be the fate of Iran’s uranium stockpile and missile production, as well as US sanctions against the Islamic Republic and broader military presence in the Middle East. Many of those issues were the same ones the two sides failed to resolve in February negotiations before the war began.
Iran’s deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi says Tehran has entered negotiations from a position of strength, arguing that the war on Iran had failed to deliver decisive strategic gains for the US.
Trump – as we detailed below – made it clear he sees Iran ‘holding no cards’.
US Starts Clearing Mines In Strait of Hormuz
Seemingly confirming President Trump’s earlier comments on “clearing out the Strait”, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that two U.S. missile destroyers started clearing mines in the Strait of Hormuz on April 11 as peace talks kicked off between Washington and the Iranian regime
“Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon to encourage the free flow of commerce,” CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper said in a statement Saturday.
The American ships included the USS Frank E. Peterson (DDG 121) and USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112).
CENTCOM revealed that the mission on Saturday is part of a broader goal to make the crucial waterway, located on the southwest coast of Iran, clear of sea mines laid by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Saturday’s confirmation about the mine clearing came hours after a United States government vessel was spotted entering the Strait of Hormuz, according to the ship-tracking intelligence platform Marinetraffic.com.
It’s not clear if this was related to CENTCOM’s mine-clearing mission.
Trump Announces Start Of “Clearing Out” The Strait As A “Favor” To RoW
Earlier reports appears to have been confirmed as three US officials have stated to The Wall Street Journal that two U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, marking the first transit of American warships through the waterway since the war began six weeks ago.
President Trump took to social media to explain what was going on. But first, he clarified a few things to the ‘fake news media’…
The Fake News Media has lost total credibility, not that they had any to begin with. Because of their massive Trump Derangement Syndrome (Sometimes referred to as TDS!), they love saying that Iran is “winning” when, in fact, everyone knows that they are LOSING, and LOSING BIG!
Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti Aircraft apparatus is nonexistent, Radar is dead, their Missile and Drone Factories have been largely obliterated along with the Missiles and Drones themselves and, most importantly, their longtime “Leaders” are no longer with us, praise be to Allah!
The only thing they have going is the threat that a ship may “bunk” into one of their sea mines which, by the way, all 28 of their mine dropper boats are also lying at the bottom of the sea.
Having got all that off his chest, he then confirmed the operation to open the Strait:
We’re now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz as a favor to Countries all over the World, including China, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, and many others.
Incredibly, they don’t have the Courage or Will to do this work themselves.
Very interestingly, however, empty Oil carrying ships from many Nations are all heading to the United States of America to LOAD UP with Oil.
Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP
But he wasn’t done with that. A few minutes later he followed with a shorter pithier version of the same narrative:
The Fake News Media is CRAZY, or just plain CORRUPT!
The United States has completely destroyed Iran’s Military, including their entire Navy and Air Force, and everything else. Their Leadership is DEAD!
The Strait of Hormuz will soon be open, and the empty ships are rushing to the United States to “load up.”
But, if you listen to the Fake News, we’re losing!
Iran explicitly informed the Pakistani mediator during talks that if the vessel continued its movement it would be targeted within 30 minutes and the Iran-US negotiations would be damaged.
However, no issues were reported during the ships transit of the Strait, and the move was described as a freedom-of-navigation mission.
The (successful) timing of this action – as talks begin in Islamabad – is certainly a show of strength amid the delicate negotiations.
Several US Warships Cross Hormuz Strait: Axios
Just as indirect talks kick off in Islamabad, a shocking and surprise development is being reported by Axios’ Barak Ravid, though this is not confirmed:
🚨🇺🇸🚢Several U.S. navy ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, U.S. official says
🚨🇺🇸🚢The move was not coordinated with Iran. It’s the first time this happens since the beginning of the war— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) April 11, 2026
If accurate, are we witnessing Trump suddenly pile on more leverage before negotiations even get off the ground? It seems like the Iranians would have noticed several US Navy warships passing. Either they held off attack for the sake of pursuing peace, or this was truly done ‘stealthily’ and Iranian capabilities are degraded to the point they may have ‘missed’ it. Or is this an attempt to muddy the negotiations? Sabotage? Ravid after all has long stood accused of pushing an Israeli agenda in his reporting.
Talks Begin with Indirect Format Mediated by Pakistanis
By Saturday afternoon (local), the highest-level US-Iran-related talks since the 1979 Islamic Revolution have kicked off in Islamabad. Vice President JD Vance met Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif just ahead of the negotiations, and also senior Iranian officials were greeted by Sharif and other Pakistani leaders. Iran’s delegation is led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The engagement by each side has begun indirectly.
Pakistan has made clear it is working to facilitate direct negotiations between the US and Iran to fully bring to an end the six-week war in the Middle East. Sharif hailed both sides’ commitment to engaging constructively, and “expressed the hope that these talks would serve as a stepping stone toward durable peace in the region,” his office stated in a news release.
“Vance was joined for the bilateral meeting by special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner,” CNN reviews. “Sharif was joined by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sen. Mohammad Ishaq Dar, along with Interior Minister Sen. Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi, according to a news release from the Pakistani prime minister’s office. There was no press coverage of the meeting.”
CNN also has this interesting detail on just how many officials have traveled with the Iranian side: “Iran’s delegation in Islamabad is made up of 71 people, including negotiators, experts, media representatives and security, Tasnim reported.” According to some of the latest:
Tehran reportedly set 2 main conditions. The issue of frozen funds being already accepted by Washington. Despite no strikes on Beirut, attacks in southern Lebanon are ongoing and are now part of the negotiations.
Below: Ghalibaf (Speaker of Parliament) – Araghchi (Foreign Minister) – Ahmadian (Secretary of the Defense Council) – Hemmati (Central Bank Governor)
Lebanon Fighting Has Not Stopped But Rare Diplomatic Contact Made
Fighting has not fully stopped in Lebanon, raising the possibility of derailing the Pakistan talks, after Tehran had earlier in the week threatened that it could pull out if Israel keeps ups its attacks. On Saturday, Lebanon’s Health Ministry raised the death toll from the Israeli surprise Wednesday strikes to 357, and suggested the figure could rise amid several days of search and recovery operations.
But one rare bright spot in terms of diplomatic contact, as international reports say the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States held a phone call in the first direct contact reported between the two countries, ahead of ceasefire talks scheduled in Washington for next week.
Meanwhile, Iran confirmed it is coordinating with Lebanon to ensure ceasefire commitments are upheld across all fronts, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on state TV from Islamabad, where senior US and Iranian officials are holding talks to end the six-week war. At the same time, Lebanese officials close to Hezbollah told Reuters the group supports the Pakistan dialogue and considers it the appropriate path, rejecting a separate round of talks planned in Washington next week.
Iranian delegation in Pakistan seeks to present ‘unity’ of government/military leadership and coordination:
I told @nytimes that the size and composition of Iran’s delegation shows “that they have not come to stonewall,” but are there with full authority and seriousness to reach a deal with the United States. Such a large delegation of experts would only be deployed if negotiations…
— Vali Nasr (@vali_nasr) April 11, 2026
Israeli airstrikes have continued on a sporadic basis: “Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reports that an Israeli air attack on the town of Kfar Sir in the Nabatieh district has killed four people, including a paramedic, and injured four,” writes Al Jazeera Saturday. “Another Israeli attack on the town of Zefta, also in the Nabatieh district, killed three people, including a member of the Lebanese Civil Defense, and wounded two.” There’s been an additional third attack on Toul and Nabatieh, killing three and injuring several more.
Trump: ‘No Backup Plan’ Needed Since Iran’s Military ‘Defeated’
“You don’t need a backup plan,” Trump told reporters Friday when asked about possible next steps of Pakistan talks fail, according to a report by The Hill as he departed Washington en route to Florida. “The military is defeated.”
“Their military is gone. We’ve degraded just about everything,” Trump added. These words suggest he sees the Pakistan peace process as a serious offramp. However, as we and others have reported, there’s an ongoing Pentagon build-up in the region. This has kicked off speculation that a bigger US attack could be around the corner, at that the Islamabad summit is cover for ongoing military preparations.
NEW: US officials tell the WSJ that jets have recently arrived in the Middle East, and 1,500 to 2,000 troops from the Army’s elite 82nd Airborne could arrive in the coming days, as well as thousands of sailors and Marines.
The USS George H.W. Bush carrier strike group and 11th… pic.twitter.com/dXxG9q28N5
— Faytuks Network (@FaytuksNetwork) April 10, 2026
And yet, the reality is that Iran remains in control of the Strait of Hormuz, with only a tiny trickle of ‘vetted and approved’ vessels making it through, and reportedly paying hefty toll fees to Tehran, which Trump has warned against. Iran in Pakistan is asking for sanctions to be lifted. If the US grants this, Iran will be in a better position than went the war started, which will be tantamount to gains made through the fight.
