US-Iran talks deadline expires without wider deal

MG News August 18, 2026 (MLN): A 60-day window for reaching a wider US-Iran agreement expired on Monday without a comprehensive deal, prompting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to again press both sides to return to the negotiating table. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters the Secretary-General's position has remained consistent since Washington and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28: that the conflict has no military resolution, according to APP. Stephane Dujarric said Guterres was urging Iran and the US to resume talks toward a peaceful, lasting settlement as soon as possible, to steer clear of military action and to tone down the heightened rhetoric of recent days. The deadline's expiry follows the Pakistan-brokered 14-point Islamabad Memorandum, a document remotely signed by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian after diplomatic engagement and a 60-day extension of the truce between the two countries. Separately, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said earlier that the 60-day timeline tied to the June 17 memorandum had become moot, citing what he described as clear US violations of the agreement. Asked about a recent meeting in Israel between Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Stephane Dujarric said he had no update on the latest talks. Copyright Mettis Link News