The main point of contention at the weekend talks between Iran and the United States in Pakistan was a dispute over Tehran's nuclear activities. According to The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, Tehran stated it could only consent to a five-year pause on Iran's uranium enrichment, despite Washington's request for a 20-year freeze.
According to sources, during the discussions in Islamabad, the United States and Iran exchanged proposals for the suspension of Iranian nuclear activity, but they are still at odds over how long any accord would last. The Trump administration rejected Tehran's proposal to halt uranium enrichment for up to five years, insisting on 20 years, according to the NYT, which quoted two senior Iranian officials and one US official.

The move represented a significant departure from the Trump administration's previous calls for Tehran to completely stop domestic enrichment due to worries that it could lead to the development of nuclear weapons.
Political scientist Ian Bremmer claims that despite disagreements, the United States and Iran may reach an agreement to suspend uranium enrichment for 12.5 years.
The weekend conference to settle the US-Iranian disagreement was the most senior interaction since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution and the first face-to-face contact between Washington and Tehran in almost ten years.Even though the US military started its blockade of Iranian ports on Monday, endangering a cease-fire that has been in place for almost a week, authorities claimed the Islamabad discussions were still ongoing and there might be a way to reach a peace agreement despite the standoff on Tehran's nuclear operations.
The WSJ was informed by officials that they were talking about holding a second round of in-person negotiations, but they gave no specifics.
The opening of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial transit route for international energy supplies that Iran has effectively blocked but the US has promised to reopen, and international sanctions on Tehran were the other significant issues at stake in addition to Tehran's uranium enrichment, according to news agency Reuters, citing sources.The talks took place in two distinct wings and one common space within the opulent Serena Hotel in Islamabad, according to the agency: one for the US side, one for the Iranians, and one for trilateral meetings involving Pakistani mediators.
Delegates, including Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and US Vice President JD Vance, were reportedly forced to leave the main room during breaks in order to send messages home because phones were prohibited.In the midst of the negotiations, there was a great deal of hope that a breakthrough would occur and the two parties would come to an agreement. But things quickly shifted, according to a Pakistani official source.According to reports, the discussions lasted over 20 hours. The two Iranian sources told Reuters that the normally polite Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi became more combative when the topic of guarantees—both non-aggression promises and sanctions relief—came up.
"How can we trust you when, in the last Geneva meeting, you said the U.S. would not attack while diplomacy was underway?" he reportedly asked.
Two days after a prior session of negotiations between the two parties in Geneva, the US-Israeli attack on Iran started.
Along with disagreements over sanctions, Hormuz, and other issues, the two sides apparently couldn't agree on the extent of any agreement. According to two sources, Tehran desired a more comprehensive understanding while Washington concentrated on the nuclear issue and Hormuz.

"Agreement Was Close" was the government source's description of the tense moment when loud voices could be heard outside the negotiating chamber before Munir and Dar called a tea break and took the two sides back into separate rooms.
According to a second source with knowledge of the negotiations, the parties were "80% there" and "very close" to an agreement before encountering issues that could not be resolved immediately.
The atmosphere was thick and antagonistic, according to two senior Iranian sources who told Reuters that although Pakistan attempted to defuse the situation, neither party demonstrated any desire to reduce tensions.
However, the mood was said to have improved by early Sunday morning, and the prospect of a one-day extension started to take shape.

Bone of Contention
But the discrepancies remained. A US official claimed that Iranians were unaware that Washington's main goal was to reach an agreement that would guarantee Iran would never get nuclear weapons. Mistrust of US intentions was one of Iran's worries.
The report provides an initial assessment of the meeting's internal dynamics, how the atmosphere changed, how discussions ended following indications that the meeting would be extended, and how more discussion is still planned.
The Iranian administration did not immediately comment on the issue.
However, US President Donald Trump stated on Monday that Iran had "called this morning" and that "they'd like to work a deal."According to Reuters, which cited a US official, the US and Iran were still in contact and making progress toward an agreement.
Olivia Wales, a White House spokesperson, responded, "The US." In the meeting in Islamabad, no position had changed.President Trump's negotiating team adhered to numerous red lines, including the one that Iran can never possess nuclear weapons. "We're still working toward a deal," she stated.