Tehran has no plans to participate in new negotiations with the United States, Iranian state media reported on Sunday, hours after President Donald Trump announced he was sending a delegation to Islamabad. The development threatens to derail the latest round of talks aimed at ending the US-Israeli war in Iran, which has entered its eighth week.
Iran’s military accused the US of violating the fragile ceasefire after Trump announced that an Iranian cargo ship had been seized near the Strait of Hormuz. “We have full custody of their ship, and are seeing what’s on board!” Trump wrote on social media. The Iranian military said the vessel was travelling from China and warned of retaliation against what it called “armed piracy”.
The US delegation, led by Vice-President JD Vance and including special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, was due to arrive in Pakistan on Monday for a second round of talks. However, Iran’s official IRNA news agency stated that Tehran’s absence stemmed from “Washington’s excessive demands, unrealistic expectations, constant shifts in stance, repeated contradictions, and the continuing naval blockade, which it considers a breach of the ceasefire”.
Trump said the talks were Iran’s “last chance” to agree to a peace deal, threatening to destroy the country’s power plants and bridges if it did not comply. “If Iran does not sign this deal, the whole country is getting blown up,” he told Fox News. The US president also described the proposed deal – which includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ensuring Iran does not possess enriched uranium – as “very fair and reasonable”.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry confirmed that Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar had spoken with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, emphasising the need for continued dialogue. A phone call between Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was also planned. The two-week ceasefire is set to expire on Wednesday.
