US President Donald Trump's efforts to end the Middle East conflict failed after the talks between the United States and Iran in Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad derailed, as both sides refused to accept each other's demands. Trump, a two-time US president, has now announced a naval blockade of Iran's all ports and coastal areas, a move which regional experts and analysts believe could further complicate the situation.
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, is one of the most critical transit points in the world from where nearly 20 per cent of the global crude passes through. Since the beginning of the conflict, vessels are hardly passing the Strait, and Trump's naval blockade move would hardly do anything in improving the situation.
Did US achieve its objectives?
Analysts believe that the blockade was "bewildering and seems self-defeating", and it would only expose the US forces to further risk. It is worth noting that Americans may not like a prolonged military engagement in Iran, with a new CBS News poll showing that around 80 per cent people in the US want the Strait to open and improve the global access to oil.
The survey also showed that only 10 per cent American believe that the US has achieved its goal.
"There is little reason to believe that a blockade would force Iranian capitulation. If anything, Iran's demonstrated resilience thus far suggests the opposite," Danny Citrinowicz, a fellow at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies, posted on X (previously Twitter). "Iran's geographic scale and military capabilities mean that sustaining such an operation would demand substantial and prolonged allocation of American resources."
Should US push for more negotiations?
With experts and analysts believing that the blockade would hardly help in US achieving its goals, it is being said that the Trump administration should go for more negotiations with Iran. However, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine believe that it won't be easy as Trump had removed the US in the 2015 accord with Iran.
"This is not going to be an easy negotiation because the last negotiation that led to a control of Iran's nuclear program, the US made the decision to tear it up and walk away from the deal," Kaine told CNN.
Notably, Trump has also hinted that his administration is no more interested in negotiations with the Islamic Republic. "I don't care if they come back or not. If they don't come back, I'm fine," he told reporters on Sunday.
What derailed the talks?
US Vice President JD Vance, who was leading the American delegation, said the talks failed despite Washington giving its 'final and best' offer to Iran. In an early morning briefing on Sunday in Islamabad, Vance hinted that the two sides failed to arrive on a consensus over Iran's nuclear programme, which derailed the talks. Vance said the US will never allow Iran to seek nuclear weapons, though he did not provide much details regarding it.
On the contrary, Iran said the talks failed due to the 'unreasonable' demands made by the US. Iran, which has vowed to protect its national interests, has said that the US should abandon its 'totalitarianism' to make sure that the talks are a success. "If the American government abandons its totalitarianism and respects the rights of the Iranian nation, ways to reach an agreement will certainly be found," said Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on X.
