Hopes of a diplomatic ‌breakthrough in the US-Israeli war with Iran appeared to retreat further on Sunday, as efforts to revive talks stalled and both Tehran and Washington showed little sign of softening their positions.

US forces ​removed security equipment from the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on Sunday, Pakistani government sources said, signaling that any US delegation was unlikely to return for talks ​soon.

Two US Air Force C-17s carrying security staff, equipment and vehicles used to protect US officials flew out of Pakistan, two Pakistani government sources told Reuters on Sunday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, however, returned to Islamabad for more consultations on Sunday, despite US President Donald Trump calling off his envoys’ planned trip a day earlier.

According to the Iranian news agency ISNA, Araghchi was to sit down with Pakistani officials to convey “Iran’s positions and views on the framework of any understanding to completely end the war” in the Middle East.

The minister had already been in Islamabad only the day before, after which he traveled to Oman, while other Iranian envoys went to Tehran “to consult and obtain the necessary instructions on issues related to ending the war,” according to the agency.

He is expected to go to Moscow after the talks in Pakistan.

In Oman, Araghchi met with Prime Minister Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on Sunday, and they discussed security in the strait. Araghchi called for a regional security framework free of outside interference, according to Iran’s foreign ministry.

Iran wanted to persuade Oman to support a mechanism to collect tolls from vessels passing through the strait, according to a regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter.

The official, who is involved in........

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