Saturday Afternoon News Updates: The Islamabad Talks Are Collapsing — 4/11/26

Iran came with demands, Israel is sabotaging from the sidelines, and the U.S. negotiating is a disaster. Here are the latest updates.

Hi all, Ben here. It’s Saturday afternoon. Here are the latest updates.

First, here are the top stories we’re tracking right now:

• Islamabad talks between the U.S. and Iran have hit a full stalemate and are on the verge of collapse

• Iran came to the table with four formal demands — not negotiating positions, demands

• Iran state media says the U.S. is pushing “extravagant” demands of its own

• Stalemate centers on the Strait of Hormuz — Iran wants full control, the U.S. proposed joint control, Iran said no

• Disputed Strait of Hormuz incident — Iran says it forced a U.S. destroyer to retreat; the U.S. denies it

• Conflicting claims over whether the U.S. released frozen Iranian assets as a goodwill gesture

• Israel privately assesses the talks will collapse and is already threatening a “severe and comprehensive” next strike on Iran

• Netanyahu pushing the U.S. to separate Lebanon from any Iran deal

• Trump melts down across social media mid-negotiation, writes “praise be to Allah”

• Israel carries out 200+ airstrikes on Lebanon in the past 24 hours despite the ceasefire

• Manhattan DA opens investigation into sexual assault allegation against Rep. Eric Swalwell

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Let’s dive in.

The Talks Are Already Falling Apart

Let’s start with the breaking news: the Islamabad talks between the United States and Iran are in serious trouble. According to the Financial Times, the negotiations have already reached a stalemate, talks have turned heated, and the central breaking point is control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran walked in demanding full authority over the waterway. The U.S. floated joint control as a compromise. Iran said no. That’s where things stand right now, deadlocked, with no obvious path forward and both sides increasingly talking past each other.

Here’s what Iran actually came to Islamabad to do. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said that Tehran is not negotiating. They are issuing demands. Their reasoning is that the United States under Donald Trump has proven so consistently dishonest and deceptive that ordinary diplomacy isn’t a viable framework. Their four formal red lines: full authority over the Strait of Hormuz, payment of war reparations from the United States, the unfreezing of all blocked Iranian financial assets, and a comprehensive regional ceasefire with permanent security guarantees for Iran and all of its proxy groups across the Middle East. That is a maximalist list. That is the list of a party that believes it won. These demands are far greater than anything Iran was asking for prior to Trump’s war.

Iran’s social media accounts have been gleefully underlining the point all day. They posted “Time to seal the victory in beautiful Islamabad.” When Trump posted that Iran “has no cards,” Tehran’s embassy responded with: the latest attempts at psychological warfare against Iran...we are masters of this, followed by a sunglasses smiley face emoji. The Keyboard Warrior-in-Chief is being out trolled on the Internet.

And now, Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB is reporting that it’s actually the U.S. coming to the table with “extravagant” demands of its own. Both sides are now publicly accusing the other of being the unreasonable party. Things are not going well.

The Destroyer Incident Nobody Can Agree On

Layered on top of the stalemate is a separate, deeply murky incident involving a U.S. Navy destroyer and the Strait of Hormuz. And the two sides are presenting much different stories to the public.

The Trump administration’s version, leaked to Axios, is thatseveral U.S. destroyers crossed the Strait from east to west and back again, completely unimpeded, in a freedom of navigation operation. No Iranian vessels. No confrontation. Done.

Iran’s version is that a U.S. destroyer attempted to enter the strait and was turned back after Iran’s armed forces issued a direct warning. According to Iranian sources, Tehran informed the Pakistani mediators in real time that if the vessel didn’t reverse course, it would be targeted within 30 minutes and the negotiations would be over. The destroyer turned around. Iran’s Foreign Ministry called it a forced retreat. Iranian military officials stated flatly that no U.S. vessel crossed the strait at all.

The Trump administration says they received no threats and the ships moved freely. So either American destroyers sailed through without incident, or they were quietly stared down by Iran mid-negotiation and reversed course while the U.S. simultaneously denied the whole thing happened. One of these things is true. The other is a lie. I’ll leave it to you to decide which version is more consistent with how this administration has conducted itself throughout this entire conflict.

The Money Dispute

There’s also an unresolved dispute about Iranian assets. Iran says the U.S. already released a portion of frozen funds as a goodwill gesture, which is a precondition Tehran said was necessary before substantive talks could begin. The White House came out today and called those reports false claims, full stop. Iran says the money moved. The U.S. says it didn’t.

Again, one side is lying. Both statements cannot be true.

Israel Is Actively Trying To Blow This Up

Here is the factor that may ultimately derail all of this… Israel has no interest in these talks succeeding, and they are not exactly being subtle about it.

Israeli officials have already privately assessed that the Islamabad talks will collapse. According to Kan News, Israel is actively lobbying the United States to separate Lebanon from any Iran deal entirely, which would strip out one of Iran’s core demands and almost certainly end the negotiations on the spot. An Israeli official also made clear that any next strike on Iran would be, in their words, severe and comprehensive, targeting national infrastructure, energy, and oil.

Netanyahu himself weighed in today, declaring that under his leadership Israel will keep fighting Iran’s regime and its proxies, and took a detour to go after Turkish President Erdogan, accusing him of aiding Iran and slaughtering Kurdish citizens. This is Netanyahu doing what he always does. He’s widening the conflict, increasing the temperature, and making sure every potential off-ramp gets torched before anyone can reach it. He has every incentive for these talks to fail. And he has Trump’s ear.

Making matters worse, Israel carried out over 200 airstrikes on Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon in just the past 24 hours. Lebanon was supposed to be covered under the ceasefire framework. Iran demanded security guarantees for its proxy groups as a core condition of any deal. Israel is bombing those groups right now, in real time, while the negotiations are supposedly ongoing.

Trump’s Social Media Meltdown, Mid-Negotiation

And then there is Trump who was rage posting through it all.

While active peace talks were underway in Pakistan, Trump declared Iran’s military completely destroyed, their navy gone, their air force gone, their radar dead. And then he again wrote “praise be to Allah,” mockingly, referencing the deaths of Iranian leaders, during live negotiations, while his own people were sitting across a table from Iranian officials. Think about how that lands in that room. Think about what it signals to the world about whether America can function as a credible negotiating partner.

He also posted about fertilizer prices, and called this war a “fight for freedom.” Then came multiple posts about oil tankers rushing to the United States, the “sweetest” oil in the world, a photo of the White House. I remember like it was just days ago that Trump declared the Strait of Hormuz was somebody else’s problem and America didn’t need to be involved. Oh wait, it was just a few days ago. Now he’s personally clearing it as a favor to China, Japan, South Korea, France, and Germany. How generous! (Yes, I’m being sarcastic, in case that doesn’t come through via text).

The Team In That Room

Let me paint a picture of the negotiating room for a moment. Iran sent a delegation of roughly a dozen senior officials to Islamabad. These are people with deep expertise in nuclear policy, energy infrastructure, regional security, and international law. Multiple PhDs. Their top people, across the board.

The United States sent a couple real estate guys and a venture capitalist.

When the talks moved into technical territory, which they reportedly already have, advancing into discussions about implementation details. there is not a single person on the American side who can competently engage on nuclear enrichment, energy systems, or the legal architecture governing international waterways. No NATO allies in that room. No experienced foreign policy hands. But at least we have the president’s son-in-law.

Trump promised regime change. He promised the Iranian people would rise up. He promised a pro-American government in Tehran. Instead, Iran’s foreign minister and parliament leader are being received as heroes in Pakistan, arriving in luxury cars to cheering crowds, conducting themselves like a delegation that just won a war. The talks are stalling. Israel is threatening to restart full-scale conflict. And Trump is melting down on social media.

Manhattan DA Investigates Sexual Assault Allegation Against Swalwell

Before we wrap, an important story that has nothing to do with Iran but demands attention. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced Saturday that it is investigating a sexual assault allegation against California Congressman Eric Swalwell, who is currently running for governor. The investigation follows a CNN report in which a former staffer alleged that in April 2024, after a night of drinking in New York City, she woke up to Swalwell having sex with her in his hotel room while she was heavily intoxicated and unable to consent. She told CNN she was pushing him off and saying no, and that he did not stop. She is one of four women who described allegations of misconduct by the congressman. Swalwell has denied all of the allegations, calling them false and politically timed, and says he will defend himself with the facts. These are serious allegations against a sitting member of Congress, and they deserve to be taken seriously and investigated fully, period, full stop, regardless of party.

We’ll keep you posted as the Iran situation develops, along with the rest of the news. Everything right now is moving fast, and right now, it is not moving anywhere good. Thanks for being a subscriber.