Iran 'abstains' approaches negotiations
Iran held back from saying whether to participate in negotiations to continue the ceasefire, although US President Donald Trump said a delegation was on its way to Pakistan.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakçi said that he had a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Ishak Dar on the US about the issues related to the ceasefire on Telegram, but did not go into detail. Previously, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Bekayi stated that Tehran currently has no plans to participate in the negotiations, but no decision has been made.
According to Iranian media, Bekayi said, "There are several signs that the US side is not serious about advancing diplomacy, adding that Iran was reviewing a US proposal communicated during the visit of Pakistan Army Commander Asim Munir. The details of the offer were not disclosed.
Citing an interview with Trump on Monday, the New York Post reported that a group including US Vice President JD Vance will land in Islamabad in hours. “We need to have the meetings,” Trump told the newspaper. "That's why I assume no one is playing at this point," he added.
The contrast messages came after a turbulent weekend that dropped new doubts about whether the two sides would meet before the ceasefire ended late on Tuesday, U.S. time. Differences persist on a number of key issues, including Iran's nuclear program and control over the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global energy supply.
Trump suggested that more talks will be held despite a weekend when the US continues its naval blockade in the strait and attacks an Iranian ship.
The US leader returned to his tension-raising rhetoric on social media on Sunday, threatening the Islamic Republic with "mass destruction" if an agreement was not reached.
“We offer a very fair and reasonable AGREEMENT and I hope they accept it because if they don't, the United States will blow up every Power Plant and every Bridge in Iran,” he said.
Referring to an interview, PBS News said on Monday that Trump said that "a lot of bombs" would explode if the ceasefire with Iran ended.
This language marked a sudden change from Friday when Trump said a deal with Iran was almost certain. Iranian officials have denied that they have submitted to basic US demands, including ending the country's nuclear program and delivering stockpiles of enriched uranium.
“The transfer of enriched uranium materials was never discussed during or before this round of negotiations,” Bekayi said. The two sides met in Islamabad on the weekend of April 11-12, and the participants, including Vance, left the capital of Pakistan without an agreement.
Iran, which has effectively kept Hormuz closed to everyone except its own oil shipments since the beginning of the war on February 28, announced that it would reopen the strait on Friday due to the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, causing oil prices to fall.
Tehran quickly reversed the decision after the US refused to lift its own blockade, and the US Navy then boarded, opening fire on an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Sea of Oman.
This was the first incident since Washington adopted the blockade strategy a week ago. The Bosphorus remained almost completely closed on Monday, exacerbating the growing global energy and commodity supply crisis since the US and Israel began bombing Iran at the end of February.
The closure of the War and Hormus caused exports to China to be cut, and petrochemical producers were looking for alternative raw materials, while Beijing forced to import a record amount of ethane. Chinese President Xi Jinping said that the Strait of Hormuz should remain open in a telephone conversation with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Before the war started, about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passed through the Hürmuz Bosphorus point.
Israel, which reached a ceasefire in Lebanon last week, showed that it would not comply with the ceasefire by hitting targets in its northern neighbor again on Saturday. Israeli soldiers continue to stay in southern Lebanon, while Iran reiterated that it will not open the Strait under these conditions.
The US Central Command (Centcom), which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said on Sunday that the captured Iranian ship, known as Touska, did not comply with the stop warnings for six hours. The Navy ordered the ship to empty the engine room, and then opened fire a few hands to neutralize the ship. Centcom said the U.S. Marines boarded the ship and took control.
While investors became cautious after the disruptions in Hormuz at the weekend, oil rose, US stocks and Treasury bonds fell. Brent crude oil rose by 4.6% to almost $95, paying back most of Friday's decline.
The S&P 500 was that it would open with a decrease of 0.5% after a series of record levels. European stocks fell 1.1%.
Despite Iran's reluctance to negotiate, President Massoud Pezeshkiyan said that according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency, there is no desire to return to conflict, “all rational and diplomatic means should be used to reduce tension.”
"War is not in anyone's interest," he added.
Trump said on social media that the ship was “trying to overcome our Naval Blockade and it was not going well for them.”
Iran's news channel Press TV reported that Iran will soon respond to US action, referring to the country's military command.
Iran also set new wage rules for Hormouz and said the parliament was working to pass a law that included banning Israeli-bound ships to manage the strait. He stated that ships of other "enemy countries" will not be allowed to pass without the permission of the Supreme National Security Council.
Parliament Speaker Muhammed Bakır Kalibaf, who led the Iranian delegation in the talks with the USA in Pakistan this month, said in a statement at the weekend, "It is impossible for others to pass through the Strait of Hormuz when we cannot pass."