An Iranian negotiator returned to Pakistan on Sunday, despite the United States’ abruptly calling off a trip there by its two top negotiators.

Each side is betting it can last longer than the other, analysts say. But there are risks in a stalemate without a deal.

Officials had locked the city down, anticipating talks between U.S. and Iranian delegations. But they didn’t happen. “What did I close my business for?” one business owner asked.

The last-minute scuttling of the trip to Pakistan was the latest sign of how far apart the two sides are on reaching a deal to end the Iran war.

President Trump withdrew from the Obama-era nuclear accord in 2018, saying it was the worst deal ever. But Iran responded with an enrichment spree that haunts the negotiations to this day.

Iran’s foreign minister has already arrived in the country, state media reported. He was believed to be carrying a written response to a U.S. proposal to end the war.

A jumble of emissaries — a friend, a family member, a dove and a hawk — on the Iran crisis reflects President Trump’s improvisational approach.