Iran is seeking changes to the interim agreement with the United States as Pakistan intensifies efforts to revive stalled diplomacy, with disagreements over sanctions, frozen Iranian assets and the Strait of Hormuz continuing to block progress.

People familiar with the diplomatic effort said Tehran wants Washington to withdraw its forces from areas around Iran, release frozen Iranian funds without conditions and keep those issues separate from any later negotiations on the nuclear programme. They said both sides remained interested in a diplomatic solution, but that the gap between their positions had so far prevented a breakthrough.

The demands go beyond the implementation questions that have dominated efforts to restore the June framework. The interim agreement envisaged a 60-day period for negotiations towards a broader settlement, but the arrangement unravelled after Washington declared it over on 7 July. Iran later suspended its commitments, accusing the US of violating the agreement.

A senior Iranian official said on Wednesday that there had been “absolutely no progress” on efforts to bring Washington back into the interim agreement and establish a timetable for carrying out its commitments. Tehran also rejected reports that the two countries had agreed to extend the 60-day period, saying there had been no period to extend from its perspective.

The dispute over Hormuz remains central. Iran has said the strategic waterway will stay closed until the US meets its conditions, including ending the naval blockade of Iranian ports and releasing frozen Iranian assets. Iranian security official Mohsen Rezaei reiterated the position this week, while Washington has demanded the restoration of commercial navigation.

The impasse is complicated by separate discussions between Iran and Oman over arrangements for shipping through the strait. Qatar said on Tuesday that those talks had reached an advanced stage, but Tehran has indicated that an agreement with Oman would not by itself reopen the waterway.

Pakistan has continued to act as an intermediary. Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said on 12 August that Islamabad was working to bring Iran and the US back to the negotiating table and would use direct and indirect channels to support dialogue. He said Pakistani officials had also been in contact with Iran, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait over efforts to promote regional stability.

Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi travelled to Tehran on Tuesday and met President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as Islamabad sought to revive the stalled process. Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif separately said the two sides appeared to be moving towards “some sort of an arrangement”, although that assessment has not been matched by evidence of a concrete agreement.

The conflicting signals have left the diplomatic track in a fragile position. While Pakistan says it is working to restore negotiations, Tehran maintains that Washington must first return to the interim framework and meet its outstanding commitments.

Shipping activity through Hormuz has also remained sharply below normal levels. Reuters reported that only a small number of vessels were crossing the waterway compared with roughly 130 to 140 daily transits before the conflict, while attacks on shipping in the wider region have added to pressure on the talks.

For now, the most recent confirmed position from Tehran is that no agreement has been reached on extending the ceasefire framework or restarting direct negotiations, while Pakistan continues its mediation through indirect channels.