WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the US military had seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to run its blockade, while Iran said it would not participate in a second round of peace talks despite Trump’s threat of renewed airstrikes.
The developments indicated that peace may not come soon to the region, and a weeks-long blockade of marine traffic that has driven global oil prices higher likewise might remain in place.
The US has maintained a blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran has lifted and then reimposed its own blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which before the war began almost two months ago handled roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.
Trump said on Sunday that the US military took control of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that had tried to get past the blockade. “We have full custody of their ship, and are seeing what’s on board!” he wrote on social media, adding that US forces blew a hole in the vessel’s engine room.
Trump had earlier warned Iran that the United States would destroy every bridge and power plant in Iran if Tehran rejects his terms, continuing a pattern of such threats throughout the war.
Iran has said that if the United States were to attack its civilian infrastructure it would hit power stations and desalination plants of Gulf Arab neighbors.
Iranian state media suggest new talks won’t take place
There was no comment from Iranian officials directly addressing Trump’s announcement of talks. However, Iranian state media, without citing anyone beyond unnamed sources, issued brief reports suggesting that they would not happen.
Minutes after the ship seizure was announced, Iranian state media reported on President Masoud Pezeshkian’s phone conversation with Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, earlier Sunday. US actions, including bullying and unreasonable behavior, have led to increased suspicion that the US will repeat previous patterns and “betray diplomacy,” the reports cited Pezeshkian as saying.
Iran’s official IRNA state news agency, meanwhile, reported that Tehran had rejected new peace talks, citing the ongoing blockade and Washington’s shifting positions and “excessive demands.”
State broadcaster IRIB on Sunday cited Iranian sources as saying “there are currently no plans to participate in the next round of Iran-US talks.”
The Fars and Tasnim news agencies had earlier cited anonymous sources as saying “the overall atmosphere cannot be assessed as very positive,” adding that lifting the US blockade was a precondition for negotiations.
Interrupted talks
Two previous attempts at talks — last June and earlier this year — were interrupted by Israeli and US attacks.
On another phone call, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, that recent US actions, rhetoric and contradictions were signs of “bad intentions and lack of seriousness in diplomacy,” Iran’s state broadcaster said.
Pakistan did not confirm a second round of talks, but authorities had begun tightening security in Islamabad. A regional official involved in the efforts said mediators were finalizing preparations and US advance security teams were on the ground. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss preparations with the media.
The White House had said Vice President JD Vance, who led the first round of historic face-to-face talks over 21 hours last weekend, would lead the US delegation to Pakistan with envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
Iran on Saturday said it had received new proposals from the United States. While Iran’s chief negotiator, parliament speaker Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf, late Saturday said “there will be no retreat in the field of diplomacy,” he acknowledged a wide gap remained between the sides.
It was unclear whether either side had shifted stances on issues that derailed the last round of negotiations, including Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, its regional proxies and the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump’s announcement on talks repeated his threats against Iranian infrastructure that have drawn widespread criticism and warnings of war crimes. If Iran doesn’t agree to the US-proposed deal, “the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran,” he wrote.
Iran wants to control strait until ‘war fully ends’
Iran early Monday warned it could keep up the global economic pain as ships remained unable to transit the strait, with hundreds of vessels waiting at each end for clearance.
Security of the strait is not free and “the choice is clear: either a free oil market for all, or the risk of significant costs for everyone,” Mohammad Reza Aref, first vice president of Iran, said in a social media post calling for a lasting end to military and economic pressure on Tehran.
Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil trade normally passes through the strait, along with critical supplies of fertilizer for the world’s farmers, natural gas and humanitarian supplies for places in dire need like Afghanistan and Sudan.
Iran had announced the strait’s reopening after a 10-day truce between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon took hold on Friday. But then Trump said the US blockade “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with the United States. Iran said it would again enforce restrictions it imposed early in the war. On Saturday, Iran fired at ships trying to transit.
For the Islamic Republic, the strait’s closure is perhaps its most powerful weapon, inflicting political pain on Trump. For the United States, the blockade squeezes Iran’s already weakened economy. Each side has accused the other of violating the ceasefire.
Since most supplies to US military bases in the Gulf region come through the strait, “Iran is determined to maintain oversight and control over traffic through the strait until the war fully ends,” Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said late Saturday. That means Iran-designated routes, payment of fees and issuance of transit certificates.
The council has recently acted as Iran’s de facto top decision-making body.
The war is now in its eighth week after the US and Israel launched it on Feb. 28 during talks over Tehran’s nuclear program. At least 3,000 people have been killed in Iran, more than 2,290 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 US service members throughout the region have been killed.
