Updated April 21, 2026 at 4:21 PM EDT
The U.S. and Iran were expected to begin a new round of talks in Pakistan this week, but there's increasing uncertainty about when or if they will happen.
Even the timing of when the temporary U.S.-Iran ceasefire expires is unclear.
To help understand the latest, here is a look at where things stand and what the main sticking points are:
Are the talks happening?
The potential talks between the U.S. and Iran are up in the air.
Vice President Vance, head of the U.S. delegation, remained in Washington on Tuesday instead of flying to Islamabad as planned.
"Additional policy meetings are taking place at the White House in which the vice president will participate," a White House official said, on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record.
According to Iran's semiofficial news outlet Tasnim, Iran later notified Pakistan it would not be sending a delegation for talks on Wednesday, contrary to some news reports stating otherwise. It cited alleged violations of the temporary U.S.-Iran ceasefire by the U.S. among the reasons.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an English post on social media the continuing U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports is "an act of war and thus a violation of the ceasefire."
The expiration is looming — but it is unclear when exactly it ends. President Trump told Bloomberg News on Monday the ceasefire would expire Wednesday evening Eastern time. Yet mediating country Pakistan's information minister later said it expires Wednesday at 4:50 a.m. local time, which would be Tuesday night (7:50 p.m.) in Washington.
Earlier Tuesday, Trump said in an interview with CNBC that Iran should "use reason" and "common sense" so the two countries can reach a deal to end the war. But he's ready to resume bombing if an agreement isn't made before the two-week ceasefire ends.
"Well, I expect to be bombing because I think that's a better attitude to go in with. We're ready to go," Trump said.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard threatened to target oil facilities in neighboring countries that allow the U.S. to resume launching attacks on Iran from their territory.
What is the U.S. asking Iran to do?
For officials in Washington, the main points of contention remain control over the Strait of Hormuz and the future of Iran's nuclear program.
The Trump administration has said it wants commercial shipping through the strategic waterway to be fully restored. Around 20% of the world's crude oil and natural gas typically passes through the narrow strait.
After the U.S. and Israel started to attack Iran on Feb. 28, Iran began to exert control over the Strait of Hormuz. It prevented most commercial ships from transiting and collected steep tolls from some of the few that did.
Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz has rattled global markets, raising the national average price of gas above $4 a gallon.
"The weaker party gains just by virtue of entering into a negotiation process," Mark Freeman, executive director of the Institute for Integrated Transitions, a peace and security think tank based in Spain, told NPR.
The other big demand coming from Washington centers on Iran's nuclear program — and whether Tehran will accept limits on nuclear enrichment.
Trump has consistently said that one of the main objectives of the war with Iran is to ensure that it never has a nuclear weapon. In his first interview after the fighting started, he said he believed Iran was "going to attack first" if the United States did not act. Trump did not cite intelligence to support that claim.
Vice President Vance said the first round of ceasefire talks held over a week ago broke down because Iran would not commit to forgoing a nuclear weapon.
"The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon," Vance said.
For Iran, ending Israel's attacks in Lebanon and lifting the U.S. blockade remain key demands
For Tehran, the key demands for extending the ceasefire include an end to the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and guarantees that the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah will not resume.
Israel and Lebanon agreed on a 10-day ceasefire last week, pausing fighting between Israel's military and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Iran had earlier refused to engage in more negotiations with the United States unless Israel stopped its attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israel, however, has vowed to keep its troops in southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah said the Lebanese people maintain the "right to resist" Israeli forces in the country.
Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah broke out shortly after the start of the war with Iran on Feb. 28, with Hezbollah firing rockets into northern Israel in a show of solidarity with Tehran. Israeli forces responded with airstrikes and an invasion of southern Lebanon. Israel says it is creating a "buffer zone" to distance Hezbollah fire from Israeli border communities.
Israel's strikes have killed more than 2,300 people and displaced over 1 million in Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities. Hezbollah's attacks have killed at least 12 Israeli soldiers and two civilians, according to Israeli authorities.
As for the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, Iran has made it clear it sees lifting the blockade as a condition for further diplomacy.
After the first round of ceasefire talks in Islamabad ended without an agreement, the U.S. military blockaded Iranian shipping ports in a bid to pressure Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as well as put economic pressure on Iran to end the war. The U.S. military says it has forced 28 ships to turn back since the blockade began. However, maritime data analysis firm Lloyd's List says it has tracked "shadow fleet" vessels moving in and out of Iranian ports.
Iran briefly reopened the key shipping route for less than a day, only to announce it was reinstating control over the strait once more in response to the continued U.S. blockade.
Iranian officials have also signaled they want financial relief, including access to $6 billion in frozen assets, and do not want to negotiate while Washington keeps up military and economic pressure.
Rebecca Rosman contributed to this report from London.
Copyright 2026 NPR