US-Iran talks deadline expires without wider deal

According to Mettis Global, a 60-day period for negotiating a broader US-Iran accord ran out on Monday with no full agreement in place. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres responded by renewing his call for Washington and Tehran to return to discussions. The expiry leaves the wider settlement unfinished.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the Secretary-General has held since Washington and Israel began striking Iran on February 28 that the conflict cannot be ended militarily. Guterres wants both countries to restart negotiations promptly, avoid military moves, and lower the sharp rhetoric of recent days. Dujarric had nothing new to share about a recent Israeli meeting involving Jared Kushner and Benjamin Netanyahu.

The deadline follows the Islamabad Memorandum, a 14-point document brokered by Pakistan and signed remotely by Donald Trump and Masoud Pezeshkian. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei had earlier called the June 17 memorandum timeline moot, pointing to what he called clear US breaches.