The US-Iran deadlock: Did Netanyahu's call to Vance have anything to do with the talks falling through?

The US and Iran held high-stakes talks in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, on Sunday to try to ease tensions in the Middle East and open the Strait of Hormuz. However, the talks failed, leaving everyone unsure of what will happen next. JD Vance, the Vice President of the United States, said that Washington made its "final and best" offer, but the Iranians did not want to accept it.

Iran said that the talks failed because the US made "unreasonable" demands, and it promised to protect its national interests. But hours later, President Donald Trump announced a naval blockade of all Iranian ports and coastal areas, which made things even more tense in the area.

As the talks fell through, analysts and experts began to speculate on what might have caused them to fail. The focus then turned to Iran's nuclear program, which even Vance mentioned in his press conference, saying that the US needs assurances that Tehran will not seek a nuclear weapon. But now Iran says that the talks were going well until Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Vance and stopped them.

"Netanyahu's call to Vance during the meeting changed the subject from US-Iran talks to Israel's needs. Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said, "The US tried to get what it wanted at the negotiating table that it couldn't get through war."

The Iranian foreign minister said that Israel was to blame for the talks falling through. He said that Tehran entered talks with the US in "good faith" for the first time in 47 years to end the war, but now they are facing "maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade."

Iran and the U.S. had the most serious talks in 47 years to end the war. But when we were only a few inches away from the "Islamabad MoU," we ran into maximalism, shifting goalposts, and a blockade. No lessons learned. Good will leads to good will. He said on X, "Enmity begets enmity."

The US military has said that it will start blocking Iranian ports with its navy on Monday because the talks failed. The move had an immediate effect on the market, with oil prices going up 8% to USD 104.24 a barrel in early trading. Brent crude oil, which is the international standard, also went up by 7% to $102.29.

Since the start of the Middle East conflict in February, the price of Brent crude oil has gone up from $70 per barrel to more than $119 at times. Before the talks started on Friday, Brent for June delivery dropped 0.8 percent to $95.20 per barrel.