5 min readApr 13, 2026 05:33 PM IST First published on: Apr 13, 2026 at 05:33 PM ISTTalks between the United States and Iran ended Sunday morning without resolution. The failure of the negotiations was no surprise. Now, the big question is: What happens next? The answer depends on what the US and Iran will take away from their short meeting in Islamabad. One way or another, the Islamabad meeting marked the highest level of face-to-face contact between the US and Iran since 1979. Therefore, though the two sides walked away without a formal peace agreement, the meeting itself was a move in the right direction.Americans learned from their 40 days of war against Iran that brute force alone cannot achieve their goals.Will Americans return to war with Iran, or will they declare victory and leave? US President Donald Trump did not wait more than 24 hours before resuming his tough talk and bullying. He declared that the US will blockade the Strait of Hormuz. Trump has not yet offered many details, including how many warships will enforce the blockade. Iran has stated it will consider any warships that approach the Strait of Hormuz to enforce a blockade as breaching the current ceasefire.AdvertisementAs many international analysts observed, the failure of the negotiations between Iran and the US was also partly because Israel and the US continue to believe that strikes over Lebanon are not included in a two-week ceasefire deal with Iran. And the Iranian government’s refusal to accept terms regarding the cessation of uranium enrichment came as no surprise to the Americans and Pakistani mediators.Even if no one, including ordinary Iranians and Americans, wants a re-escalation of war, both sides know that escalation in the Strait of Hormuz is inevitable if trust between the two countries continues to run low. Let us not forget that the Trump administration has repeatedly failed to honour its commitments by attacking Iranian targets twice within less than a year while talks between the two countries were ongoing.Must Read | After failure of US-Iran peace talks in Islamabad, picking up the piecesThough the 21-hour negotiations can be considered a sincere attempt to secure a significant, if fragile, shift in diplomatic engagement, both countries were discussing terms with their hands on the trigger. However, both sides also have good reasons to want peace. The Iranians want to rebuild their country. The Trump administration has the mid-term elections in November 2026 to consider. A joint US-Israel war against Iran will certainly influence the outcome of these elections. This is another reason Trump and his allies should understand that they are not in a position to dictate terms to the Iranian government.AdvertisementThese negotiations were of great importance to European and Gulf nations, too, primarily because they could have secured vital energy supplies, prevented economic catastrophe, and ensured regional security. If the US can develop trust with the Iranians, the latter may be more receptive to the peace process. If Trump wants economic and political success for the US and himself, he cannot maintain such a maximalist stance. As for the Iranian government, survival is most important. The fact that the Iranian delegation in Islamabad included key officials from the Supreme National Security Council, the Central Bank, and the military signalled a serious push from their side for long-term negotiations with the Americans. Six weeks ago, this would have been impossible.you may likeAlso Read | The chronicle of a failure foretold: Why Iran-US peace talks were unlikely to succeed even before they beganThe Iranian population continues to believe that a de-escalation of the war with the US and Israel is possible. But everyone, in Iran and the Gulf countries, knows that the ceasefire is fragile, more so now. A lot depends on how far this American blockade will be implemented and how Iran will respond to it. Certainly, the Trump administration is not willing to negotiate with the Iranians or leave the negotiation table without humiliating them. But, of course, Iran does not see itself as a defeated party. The trouble is that the US and Iran are both looking for victory over the other. Until then, this will remain a deadlock. Unfortunately, if there is no ceasefire, it wouldn’t just be a loss for two countries; it would be a terrible loss for humanity.The writer is director, Mahatma Gandhi Centre for Nonviolence and Peace Studies, OP Jindal Global University