How many times were the US and Iran on the verge of a deal?

While a peace agreement remains elusive on the 100th day since the US and Israel first launched strikes on Tehran on February 28, the US and Iran have appeared to come close to a deal on several occasions.

The war began with Operation Epic Fury, the joint campaign waged by the United States and Israel against Iran at the end of February. Iran retaliated by attacking both Israel and US military assets in the Gulf.

Armed hostilities largely subsided after the temporary Pakistan-mediated ceasefire began on April 8. Direct talks in Islamabad fell apart on April 12 and the two sides have exchanged a series of proposals for peace via Pakistan since then.

However, several flare ups since have escalated fears that full‑scale fighting could resume.

Here is what happened each time the US and Iran were close to a deal, and why the prospect of peace fell through.

What happened: On April 11 and 12, representatives from the US and Iran met in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, for the first direct talks between the two sides since the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran.

The US delegation was led by Vice President JD Vance and included Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Iranian negotiators included Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and Ali Bagheri Kani, a senior member of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and chief nuclear negotiator.

Ahead of those talks, Ghalibaf publicly stated that for Iran, a ceasefire by Israel in Lebanon and the unfreezing of Iranian assets abroad were non-negotiables for Tehran. Israel has carried out near-daily strikes on Lebanon since March 2, and now occupies about one-fifth of the country, since Iran-backed Hezbollah launched strikes on northern Israel in retaliation for the initial attacks on Tehran.