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War in the Middle East: latest developments Paris, France, April 12 (AFP) Apr 12, 2026 The latest developments in the Middle East war:
Saudi Arabia's energy ministry said that its key east-west oil pipeline and other facilities had been restored following attacks by Iran on infrastructure across the Gulf. Citing an energy ministry statement, the official Saudi Press Agency reported that the attacks had led to a "loss of approximately 700,000 barrels per day of pumping capacity through the east-west pipeline" and work was under way to restore full production capacity at the kingdom's Khurais oil field.
Iran's foreign ministry said no one had held any expectation that talks with the United States could have reached an agreement within one session after the negotiations in Islamabad stalled. "Naturally, from the beginning we should not have expected to reach an agreement in a single session. No one had such an expectation," ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said, according to state broadcaster IRIB.
"The priority now must be to continue the ceasefire and return to negotiations," Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement, adding it was "disappointing that the Islamabad talks between the United States and Iran have ended without agreement".
Pakistan's foreign minister insisted that Washington and Tehran must uphold a ceasefire agreement, after marathon talks between the two sides to end the war in the Middle East ended without a deal. "It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to ceasefire," said Ishaq Dar, whose government hosted the talks and acted as a mediator.
US Vice President JD Vance departed Pakistan aboard Air Force Two soon after saying that talks with Iran failed to reach an agreement after he put forward a "final and best offer". "The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon and will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon," he told reporters in Islamabad, on the main sticking point for talks moving ahead.
"The Iranian delegation negotiated continuously and intensively for 21 hours in order to protect the national interests of the Iranian people; despite various initiatives from the Iranian delegation, the unreasonable demands of the American side prevented the progress of the negotiations. Thus the negotiations ended," Iranian state broadcaster IRIB said.
The success of peace talks between the United States and Iran depended on Washington avoiding "excessive" and "unlawful" demands, the Iranian foreign ministry's spokesman said early on Sunday after marathon talks in Islamabad. "The success of this diplomatic process depends on the seriousness and good faith of the opposing side, refraining from excessive demands and unlawful requests, and the acceptance of Iran's legitimate rights and interests," Esmaeil Baqaei wrote on X.
Iran denied Washington's claims that two US Navy warships crossed the Strait of Hormuz to clear the strategic waterway of mines, with Tehran warning that military ships attempting the passage "will be dealt with severely". US Central Command's claim that mine detection operations were already underway was echoed by President Donald Trump, who told reporters Saturday "we have mine sweepers out there. We're sweeping the strait". A fifth of the world's crude oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump told reporters Saturday it "makes no difference" if a peace deal comes out of the trilateral US-Iran talks in Pakistan, insisting the United States has already won the war. The 79-year-old Republican's comments came as Vice President JD Vance was leading the US delegation in Islamabad, with discussions heading into a second day. burs-sbk/cw |
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