Iran refuses new peace talks as US seizes cargo ship near Hormuz

Tehran cites US naval blockade and shifting demands as ceasefire nears expiry on Wednesday.

Iran said it would not attend a second round of negotiations with the United States, state media reported on Sunday, hours after President Donald Trump announced his envoys would arrive in Pakistan on Monday evening for talks aimed at ending the conflict between the two countries⁹¹¹. The ceasefire, brokered after US and Israeli air strikes on Iran began on 28 February, is set to expire on Wednesday³¹⁷.

Iran's official IRNA news agency reported that Tehran's absence stemmed from Washington's excessive demands, unrealistic expectations, constant shifts in stance, repeated contradictions, and the ongoing naval blockade, which Iran considers a breach of the ceasefire¹¹¹⁵. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment¹¹.

Trump accused Iran on Sunday of a total violation of the ceasefire after Iranian forces fired on ships near the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday⁵⁶. He posted on social media that the US would knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran unless Tehran accepted his terms⁶⁷. Trump added: NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!⁵.

The US military said on Sunday it had seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, the Touska, after the vessel attempted to evade a US naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz¹⁰¹⁵. Trump wrote that a US Navy guided missile destroyer had warned the ship to stop, but the crew refused, prompting the Navy to stop it by blowing a hole in the engine room¹⁰. Iran's military said the ship had been travelling from China and warned that Iranian armed forces would soon respond and retaliate against this armed piracy¹⁵¹⁹.

Iran had announced on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of the world's oil normally transits, would reopen to commercial vessels during a 10-day truce between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah²³. But Iran reversed that decision on Saturday after Trump said the US blockade of Iranian ports would remain in force until a deal was reached⁴⁶. At least two ships reported being fired upon while attempting to pass through the strait on Saturday, and shipping data showed no movement through the waterway after midnight GMT on Sunday⁷⁸.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's parliament speaker and chief negotiator, said in a television interview that the two sides remained far apart on nuclear issues and control of the Strait of Hormuz⁸²². He described the US naval blockade as a clumsy and ignorant decision²². Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his country remained fully committed to its role as an honest facilitator¹⁴¹⁷.

Oil prices rose more than 5 per cent on Monday on fears the ceasefire could collapse¹⁶. Brent crude futures advanced to $95.46 a barrel, up from just under $90.40 on Friday¹³¹⁶. Both contracts had tumbled 9 per cent on Friday after Iran's initial announcement that the strait would reopen¹⁶.