Newshour US and Iran officials attend peace talks in Islamabad
11 snips
Apr 11, 2026 
Nick Thorpe, BBC Central Europe correspondent covering Hungary's tense election campaign. Lise Doucette, BBC Chief International Correspondent reporting from Islamabad on US–Iran mediated talks. They discuss Islamabad’s role in peace talks, the sticking points like frozen assets and ceasefire terms, and the wider regional risks if negotiations falter.
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Preconditions And Conflicting Claims Stall Progress
- Iran insists on preconditions before talks: an expanded ceasefire including Lebanon and the unfreezing of assets.
- Conflicting public statements made verification difficult, with Iran claiming agreement and the US denying it, complicating progress.
Maximalist Positions Make Compromise Hard
- The US and Iran present maximalist, divergent opening positions: the US demands dismantling missiles, nuclear and proxy capabilities, while Iran demands full sanctions removal and other sweeping concessions.
- Ali Fathollah Najad warned this wide gap makes finding common ground difficult and long negotiations necessary.
Strait Of Hormuz Is A Time‑Sensitive Bargaining Chip
- The Strait of Hormuz is an urgent, technical bargaining chip because shipping and mined waterways create immediate global economic risk.
- Najad noted Iranian mining locations near Oman's coast and their proposal to route ships along the Iranian coast after toll payments.