Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner’s hours-long talks with Iran in Oman ended Friday with Tehran refusing to budge on nuclear enrichment. The US responded by immediately ratcheting up sanctions to deliver economic pain to Iran and flexing its military might by flying fighter jets in the Arabian Sea above the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group.

U.S.-Iran talks set for Friday were briefly canceled, then revived at the urging of Arab governments. But the two adversaries’ preferred agendas are very different. Does each side have a realistic grasp of what is at stake?

The U.S. is seeking "zero nuclear capability" from Iran, the White House said.