After hours of talks stretching into the early morning, the US and Iranian negotiating teams had reached an impasse on several of those critical points, according to people familiar with the discussions.CNN reported.
For the US, Tehran’s refusal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium were nonstarters.
Without those issues resolved, Iran’s demands the US lift sanctions and unfreeze billions of dollars in frozen assets also met a dead end, causing both sides to declare the marathon talks a bust.
Some officials pointed to a fundamental difference in negotiating styles as an element in the deadlock. Iran has been willing in the past to submit to complex, winding talks to strike a deal. The process to reach the Obama-era nuclear agreement took roughly two years.
President Donald Trump’s desire for prolonged negotiations seems minimal.
The main areas of Iranian resistance — its nuclear program and the strait — each present unique challenges for the US.
Both sides presented offers meant to resolve the nuclear issue during the talks, officials said. Trump has previously claimed the US and Iran would work together to remove what he calls the “nuclear dust,” though Iran appeared unmoved.
The Strait of Hormuz presents a newer problem. Iran kept the channel open during earlier talks, only choking off tanker traffic after the US and Israel launched strikes. Now, the closure is causing turmoil in global energy markets and political pain for Trump at home.
Iranian negotiators, aware the leverage the strait is providing them, refused to submit to demands to reopen the waterway until a final deal was reached, officials said.
