First US-Iran talks in decades end without deal but dialogue ‘still alive’

First US-Iran talks in decades end without deal but dialogue ‘still alive’ Iranian and US officials ended their highest-level talks in decades in Islamabad on Monday without a breakthrough; however, sources familiar with the negotiations said dialogue was still alive, Reuters reported. Among the slew of issues at stake was the Strait of Hormuz, a major transit point for global energy supplies that Iran has effectively blocked, but the US has vowed to reopen, as well as Iran's nuclear programme and international sanctions on Tehran. A US source said the Iranians did not properly understand that the core US aim was to have a deal that ensured Iran would never obtain a nuclear weapon.