U.S. and Iran signal further ceasefire talks to proceed in Pakistan

(SeaPRwire) –   According to two regional officials on Tuesday, the United States and Iran have indicated plans for a fresh round of ceasefire discussions in Pakistan. This comes as leaders from both nations warned they are ready to resume hostilities if a delicate two-week truce lapses without an agreement.

Public confirmation of the meeting schedule in Islamabad has not been provided by either the U.S. or Iran. Iranian state television has refuted claims that any officials are presently in the Pakistani capital.

The regional officials, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity due to a lack of authorization to brief the media, stated that Pakistan-led mediators received confirmation that the lead negotiators, U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, are scheduled to arrive in Islamabad early Wednesday to head their respective delegations.

The ceasefire, which commenced on April 8, was due to expire on Wednesday.

Trump says he doesn’t favor extending ceasefire

Both parties maintained a firm rhetorical stance. U.S. President Donald Trump cautioned that “lots of bombs” would “start going off” absent a deal before the ceasefire deadline, while Iran’s chief negotiator stated that Tehran possesses “new cards on the battlefield” that remain unrevealed.

Although the ceasefire could be prolonged if negotiations restart, Trump remarked in a Tuesday CNBC interview, “Well, I don’t want to do that.”

“We don’t have that much time,” Trump said, noting that Iran “had a choice” and “they have to negotiate.”

While White House officials have confirmed Vance will lead the U.S. delegation, Iran has not announced its representative. Iranian state television aired a message on Tuesday asserting that “no delegation from Iran has visited Islamabad … so far.”

Iranian state TV has historically been under the control of hard-liners within the country’s theocracy. The broadcast alert is thought to mirror the continuing internal discussion within Iran’s leadership as it deliberates its response to the U.S. Navy’s seizure of an Iranian container ship during the weekend.

US says its forces board sanctioned oil tanker

The U.S. announced on Tuesday that its forces had boarded an oil tanker previously sanctioned for smuggling Iranian crude oil in Asia. A Pentagon social media post stated that U.S. forces boarded the M/T Tifani “without incident.”

The location of the boarding was not disclosed by the U.S. military, although ship-tracking data placed the Tifani in the Indian Ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia on Tuesday.

The Pentagon’s statement further noted that “international waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels.”

This follows the U.S. military’s seizure of an Iranian cargo vessel on Sunday, marking the first interception under the blockade of Iranian ports. Iran’s joint military command labeled the armed boarding an act of piracy and a breach of the ceasefire.

Strait of Hormuz control key to negotiations

The blockade was enacted by the U.S. to compel Tehran to relinquish its control over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping channel that facilitates the transit of 20% of the world’s natural gas and crude oil during peacetime.

Iran’s dominance over the strait has driven a sharp increase in oil prices. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was trading near $95 a barrel on Tuesday, a rise of over 30% since February 28, when the U.S. and Israel initiated the war with attacks on Iran.

Prior to the conflict, the Strait of Hormuz was completely accessible to international shipping. Trump has insisted that vessels must once again be permitted unimpeded passage through the waterway.

In his CNBC interview, Trump also confirmed that the U.S. is evaluating a currency swap arrangement with the United Arab Emirates, whose oil-dependent economy has been unsettled by the conflict with Iran.

Under a potential swap, the UAE would employ its currency, the dirham, as collateral to secure U.S. dollars. The UAE’s global trade, which depends on dollar-denominated transactions, has been adversely affected by the Strait of Hormuz blockade.

In Brussels, European Union transportation ministers convened on Tuesday to deliberate on consumer protection measures after the International Energy Agency chief cautioned that Europe has “maybe six weeks” of jet fuel supplies left.

Iran stated over the weekend that it had received new proposals from Washington but indicated that significant differences persist. Points of contention that disrupted the previous negotiation round involved Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, its regional proxy forces, and control of the strait.

On Tuesday, Qalibaf alleged that the United States seeks Iran’s capitulation.

“We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats,” he posted on X.

Pakistan hopeful talks will proceed

Officials in Pakistan have voiced optimism that Iran will dispatch a delegation to restart the talks, which represent the highest-level discussions between the U.S. and Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The initial round on April 11 and 12 concluded without a deal.

Pakistan reported that Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met with the acting U.S. ambassador in Islamabad on Tuesday to advocate for an extension of the ceasefire. Dar also held a meeting with the ambassador from China, a major trading partner of Iran.

Security measures have been intensified throughout Pakistan’s capital, with authorities deploying thousands of personnel and boosting patrols on routes to the airport.

Israel jails soldiers for defacing Jesus statue in Lebanon

Israel’s military announced on Tuesday that it has sentenced two soldiers to 30 days in prison and dismissed them from combat roles for destroying a statue of Jesus Christ in Lebanon. The emergence of images over the weekend showing an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to smash the statue’s head prompted broad condemnation.

Israel stated that one of the disciplined soldiers was responsible for knocking the statue down with a hammer, while the other recorded the incident.

In a related development, historic diplomatic talks between Israel and Lebanon are scheduled to restart on Thursday in Washington, according to Israeli, Lebanese, and U.S. officials who spoke anonymously to discuss the private negotiations.

The Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors held their first direct diplomatic meeting in decades last week. Israel states the objective of the talks is to disarm Hezbollah and achieve a peace accord with Lebanon.

A 10-day ceasefire started on Friday in Lebanon, where combat between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants erupted two days after the U.S. and Israel began the war with joint strikes on Iran. The fighting in Lebanon has resulted in over 2,290 fatalities.

Authorities report that at least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran since the war started. Furthermore, 23 people have died in Israel and over a dozen in Gulf Arab states. The conflict has also claimed the lives of fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and thirteen U.S. service members across the region.

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Magdy reported from Cairo and Gambrell from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. David Rising and Huizhong Wu in Bangkok; Sam McNeil in Brussels and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this story.