Seyyed Abbas Araghchi, the Foreign Minister of Iran, has claimed that a single phone call triggered the collapse of the US-Iran talks in Islamabad on April 12, 2026. He stated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu suddenly called US Vice President James David Vance during the discussions and all avenues for a settlement were closed off immediately thereafter.

Araghchi, however, did not disclose why did Netanyahu make the call and what exactly did he say to Vance. He wrote on X: “Netanyahu’s call to Vance during the meeting shifted the focus from US-Iran negotiations to Israel’s interests. The US tried to achieve at the negotiating table what it could not achieve through war.“

It may be noted that Vance and his associates spoke with President Donald John Trump over phone six-12 times during the meeting. The Vice President, himself, stated that he also talked to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Admiral Brad Cooper, the Head of the US Central Command. However, Vance did not say anything about his telephonic conversation with Netanyahu. Interestingly, the US has remained silent even after Araghchi made such a claim. Both the US and Israel have neither confirmed nor denied it.

Hours after the US-Iran peace talks ended without an agreement in Pakistan on April 12, 2026, President Trump wrote on Truth Social that the talks “went well” as most points were agreed. However, there was no deal on Iran’s nuclear programme which (according to him) was the central issue in the negotiations. Meanwhile, Iran claimed that the US was looking for an excuse to leave the negotiating table.

President Trump anticipated that he would receive unconditional assistance from British Prime Minister Sir Keir Rodney Starmer regarding conflicts in the Middle East. However, Starmer significantly diverged from the expectations and demands of the US President, leading to strained relations between the two leaders. Now, the British Prime Minister has opposed President Trump’s decision to blockade the Strait of Hormuz. On April 13, 2026, he refused to join the US President’s blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Prime Minister told BBC Radio 5 Live: “We are not supporting the blockade. It is, in my view, vital that we get the Strait open and fully open, and that is where we have put all of our efforts in the last few weeks and we will ⁠continue to do so.” He stressed: “My decision has been very clear that whatever the pressure, and there has been some considerable pressure, we are not getting dragged into the war.“

According to Starmer, although Britain has mine-sweeping capability, it “would not go into operational matters“. He added: “That is not in our national interest, because I am not going to act unless there is a clear, lawful basis and a clear thought-through plan.” After the US and Iran failed to reach a deal in Pakistan, Sir Keir said that London would monitor the situation in the Middle East, adding: “A lot will depend on what happens in the next few weeks.”

Meanwhile,

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das