There was no real route towards negotiations. The two sides remained quite far apart on issues they considered non-negotiable, and neither side is desperate enough yet to make major concessions.

The US strikes on Iran were paused temporarily because Kuwait and Saudi Arabia refused permission to use their bases for that purpose. Now permission to use those bases has been secured (probably in exchange for protection guarantees and other political concessions) so the strikes can resume.

(I'm not claiming that any of this is a good idea, just explaining the state of affairs.)