Comprehensive News | US-Iran Day and Night Negotiations Stuck at "Stalemate" as US Warships Navigate the Strait Become a "Rashomon"

According to Xinhua News Agency in Islamabad on April 12, the third round of negotiations between the United States and Iran concluded in the early hours of the 12th in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. The Iranian government stated that although there are still some differences between the two sides, the negotiations will continue.

From the afternoon of the 11th to the early hours of the 12th, the two sides held three rounds of negotiations and related technical consultations in different forms, with the control of the Strait of Hormuz becoming a "sticking point." During the negotiations, the U.S. side announced that two U.S. Navy destroyers had passed through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran denied, claiming to have intercepted and driven away the U.S. vessels.

The U.S.-Iran negotiations began on the 11th at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad. Initially, the mediator Pakistan negotiated separately with the U.S. and Iranian delegations, and then the U.S. delegation led by Vice President Vance and the Iranian delegation led by the Speaker of the Iranian Islamic Consultative Assembly, Ghalibaf, conducted the highest-level "face-to-face" negotiations between the U.S. and Iran since 1979, witnessed by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz. Afterward, both sides engaged in expert-level technical consultations and exchanged written texts.

According to reports from the Iranian Mehr News Agency citing informed sources, the unreasonable demands of the Trump administration remain the main obstacle to reaching a negotiation framework between the U.S. and Iran. Additionally, Tasnim News Agency reported that the U.S. side is hindering the establishment of a negotiation framework with its "usual exorbitant demands," with the Strait of Hormuz being one of the core issues of serious disagreement between the two sides. A Pakistani source told CNN that the overall tone and outcome of the negotiations are "generally positive," but they are at an impasse regarding the control of the Strait of Hormuz.

According to the Financial Times, in the first two rounds of negotiations, representatives from both the U.S. and Iran were at an impasse over the control of the Strait of Hormuz. An informed source stated that the Iranian side refused to accept the U.S. proposal for "joint control" of the Strait of Hormuz, insisting on retaining control over this critical waterway and claiming the right to charge "tolls" to passing vessels.

On the evening of the 11th, Ibrahim Azizi, chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, posted on social media that the Strait of Hormuz would only be opened with Iran's permission. Fars News Agency reported that vessel tracking website "MarineTraffic" shows that the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz remains extremely limited, with all transiting vessels under direct Iranian surveillance.

During the U.S.-Iran "face-to-face" negotiations, U.S. media cited U.S. officials reporting that several U.S. Navy ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz from east to west into the Persian Gulf that day, and then returned through the Strait to the Arabian Sea. U.S. President Trump stated that the U.S. side "began clearing mines" in the Strait of Hormuz. Later on the 11th, U.S. Central Command stated that two U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyers passed through the Strait of Hormuz that day and operated in the Persian Gulf, with the U.S. military beginning to create conditions for mine clearance in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran, on the other hand, continuously issued statements denying that U.S. vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz. An Iranian high-level source claimed that the U.S. side's assertions were a common tactic to manipulate international energy market prices after setbacks on the battlefield, deliberately creating false "victories" in the media. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated that a U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyer attempted to enter the Strait of Hormuz, and IRGC vessels immediately blocked its path. After a brief standoff, the destroyer was forced to retreat. The IRGC Navy Command warned in the early hours of the 12th that any military vessel attempting to force its way through the waterway would face a resolute and strong response.

Shortly after the third round of negotiations began, Trump gave an interview to the media at the White House, stating that the U.S. and Iran were engaged in "in-depth" negotiations, but reiterated that he did not care whether an agreement could be reached, claiming that the U.S. had "won" regardless of the outcome. He also mentioned that the U.S. had dispatched mine-clearing ships to the Strait of Hormuz. The day before, Trump claimed that the results of the U.S.-Iran negotiations would become clear within 24 hours and threatened that if no agreement was reached, U.S. military operations would resume.

On the 11th, there were no reports of airstrikes from Gulf countries. Since the large-scale military actions initiated by the U.S. and Israel against Iran on February 28, the Persian Gulf region experienced a relatively calm day. However, in Lebanon, Israel continued to carry out airstrikes earlier that day, resulting in dozens of casualties. Previously, Iran had stated that it would immediately cease all attacks, especially those targeting Lebanon, as one of the preconditions for negotiations with the U.S. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu stated on the evening of the 11th that the elimination of Hezbollah in Lebanon was a prerequisite for ceasefire negotiations with Lebanon.