The 60‑day deadline for US‑Iran talks under the Islamabad memorandum of
understanding signed June 18 expired on Monday with no implementation. The MoU
had envisaged regional ceasefires (including Lebanon), a one‑month reopening of
the Strait of Hormuz, return of Iranian assets and sanctions talks. Iran analyst
Mohammad Mahdi Maleki said the pact unraveled after the US reimposed a maritime
blockade and sought alternative shipping routes. He said US actions breached,
after 23 days, the clause allows Iran and Oman to discuss Hormuz shipping
management; US guidance that vessels switch off tracking and use a "southern
corridor" prompted Iran to shut the strait again. Iran has set six preconditions
for resuming talks, including a permanent halt to attacks on Iran and its
regional allies, lifting the maritime blockade and sanctions, withdrawal of US
forces from Iran’s neighborhood, compensation for wars imposed on Iran, and
unconditional release of frozen Iranian assets. A former secretary of Iran’s
Supreme National Security Council said the Strait will not reopen until
Washington "corrects its behavior." Maleki added that, given continued US
escalation and Tehran’s high demands, limited military escalation now appears
more likely than a diplomatic breakthrough. Regional states are pursuing public
and back‑channel efforts to restore the Islamabad MoU, but prospects are slim.
