Iran's Foreign Minister has said the US is showing "bad intentions and a lack of seriousness in diplomacy."
Iran's top diplomat told his Pakistani counterpart that Washington's demands in negotiations and threats against Iranian ships and ports are "clear signs" of America's lack of sincerity.
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Letter to the Reader — Why We're Asking for Your Support ContributeAbbas Aragchi made the comments during a conversation with Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, according to Iranian state media.
It is another sign that the standoff between Washington and Tehran is escalating, with a ceasefire set to expire on Wednesday. It could also affect plans for a new round of US-Iran talks. in Islamabad this week, writes AP.
The Iranian military's general staff said the US attack and seizure of a flagged tanker constituted a violation of the ceasefire.
Iranian state broadcaster reported that the country's military condemned the US action as "maritime piracy" and said "Iran will respond soon."
The US said it opened fire on the ship and seized it because it had crossed the blockade line after ignoring several warnings.
Trump says Iran deal will happen soon and will be much better
Photo: Associated Press
US President Donald Trump has said the US is forging a deal with Iran that will be "much better" than agreements signed by previous US presidents, BBC reports.
Trump wrote in "Social Truth," referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the US, the UK, France, China, Russia and Germany agreed to in 2015.
Trump calls this "one of the worst deals ever made that has to do with the security of our country," adding that it was "a guaranteed path to a nuclear weapon."
Trump withdrew the US from the agreement during his first term.
He claims that if he had not terminated that agreement, nuclear weapons would have been used "against Israel, and throughout the Middle East."
In another post, he said a deal with Iran will happen "relatively soon!"
He also denies that he is under "pressure" to reach an agreement and that he is "clearly winning the war."
He has insisted that the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz will remain in place until an agreement is reached.
A second round of talks between the US and Iran was scheduled for this week in Pakistan. However, the Iranian delegation has not confirmed its participation, while the US delegation has not yet left for Islamabad.
Trump says Israel "never" convinced him to go to war with Iran
Photo: Associated Press
US President Donald Trump wrote in a post on X that Israel had never convinced him to go to war with Iran.
In his post, he emphasizes that Hamas' attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023 reinforced his "eternal" opinion that Iran can never have nuclear weapons.
Trump appears to be addressing a point of contention that has gained ground domestically, that Israel somehow tricked him into entering a war with Iran, with no easy solution.
The New York Times reported that Trump's closest advisers, including the head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, were concerned with an Israeli forecast presented by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the operation began.
Furthermore, the former head of the National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, has explicitly said in his resignation, and many times since, that he believes Israel used covert channels to convince the administration to launch the attacks to help achieve its own objectives.
But Trump and the White House have repeatedly denied this.
In the same post, Trump attacked the media for "lies and fabricated stories," saying that "the results in Iran will be amazing."
Iran says it has no plans yet to participate in talks with the US
Official Tehran said on Monday that it has "no plans for the next round" of peace talks, while the US has already sent a delegation to Pakistan, led by Vice President JD Vance.
"We are still in a state of war. Even though a ceasefire has supposedly been declared, it is a ceasefire that, unfortunately, has been consistently violated by the United States from the beginning."
"Then came statements saying that Iran's ports and ships would be targeted, which only made things more complicated. As long as this situation continues, we cannot move forward unilaterally and talk about normalizing traffic through the Strait of Hormuz," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Monday.
The two-week US-Iran ceasefire is due to end on Wednesday. But even if talks in Pakistan begin, the chances of a breakthrough are slim at best, writes the BBC.
The statement from Iran comes after the US attacked and seized an Iranian cargo ship that was trying to bypass the blockade of Iran's ports.
Trump said the ship was given "fair warning to stop," but the crew "refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them immediately."
Iran's military has said it will retaliate. Iranian media say drones have attacked US ships, although no damage has been reported.
Ceasefire in jeopardy - US seizes Iranian ship, Iran vows revenge
Photo: Associated Press
The ceasefire between the United States and Iran is in jeopardy after the US said it had seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to violate its blockade.
Tehran has vowed revenge while refusing for the time being to join new peace talks.
US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that the American team had left for Pakistan, where, according to him, talks would take place.
However, a senior Iranian source told Reuters that the continued US blockade of Iranian ports was damaging the prospects of peace talks and that Tehran's defence capabilities, including its missile programme, could not be part of the negotiations.
The US is continuing its blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran has lifted and then re-imposed its own blockade of maritime traffic passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices rose more than 6% on Monday as traders worried that the ceasefire would fail and traffic in and out of the Gulf would remain at a minimum.
The moment US forces seize Iranian-flagged ship in the Persian Gulf
US forces have seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Persian Gulf as part of their naval blockade, US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday.
He wrote on his Truth Social platform that Touska was captured by the US Navy after failing to respond to a warning to stop.
Iran has said this was a violation of the ceasefire and that it will soon retaliate for the "act of armed piracy."
Centcom (United States Central Command) has released two videos of the action.
They said one video showed the Iranian ship being warned before being attacked. The second, they said, showed the Marines leaving their ship and boarding the Iranian vessel.
CENTCOM releases footage of US forces seizing Iranian ship TOUSKA. https://t.co/cB5ziv8rjY pic.twitter.com/4xklO8uz6I
- Breaking911 (@ Breaking911) April 19, 2026
Iran warns of retaliation for US seizure of tanker
Photo: Associated Press
Iran's military has warned it will retaliate after the US Navy shot down and seized an Iranian cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman.
The seizure has cast doubt on whether the second round of negotiations planned for this week in Pakistan can take place.
US Vice President JD Vance and senior US officials were expected to arrive in Islamabad on Monday, but Iran's Foreign Ministry insisted there were no plans for talks.
Meanwhile, the ceasefire, which the US and Iran have accused each other of violating, expires on Wednesday.
The talks face deadlock on key points, including control of Iran's uranium reserves and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, where global energy supplies have been blocked for weeks.
China concerned by US seizure of Iranian ship, seeks further talks
Photo: Associated Press
China has expressed concern over the US's "forceful seizure" of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday, urging relevant parties to implement the ceasefire agreement in a responsible manner.
"The situation in the Strait of Hormuz is sensitive and complicated," spokesman Guo Jiakun said during a regular press conference.
The parties involved should avoid further escalation and "create the necessary conditions for normal transit through the strait to resume," he added.
The US has previously said it had shot down and seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to violate the blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran's military said the ship had traveled from China, and vowed revenge against what it called "armed piracy by the US military."
Beijing on Monday also called on relevant parties to "continue to maintain the momentum of the ceasefire and negotiations."
"Now that a window for peace has opened, favorable conditions must be created to end the war as soon as possible," Guo said.