US seizes Iranian ship but both sides say Pakistan talks on

TOI Correspondent from Washington: Despite mixed signals, especially over the seizure of an Iranian cargo ship by the US as part of its blockade of the Hormuz, both sides indicated they were planning to send negotiators to peace talks in Pakistan this week. Quoting officials, the NYT reported that US Vice-President JD Vance would soon leave for Islamabad, and Iranian speaker Mohammed Ghalibaf would represent Tehran, as during the first round.

Late-night reports, quoting Pakistani sources, said Islamabad was confident of both sides arriving for the second round of talks ahead of the ceasefire running out on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, even as Iran refused to join talks, citing the seizure of a cargo ship by the US, President Trump projected the visit, even the outcome, as a done deal in a clear attempt to pressure Iran with a mix of coercion and cajoling.

The Iranian-flagged container ship Touska, part of a sanctioned Iranian group, was boarded by US troops on Sunday off the coast of Chabahar port in the Gulf of Oman. The US said the vessel violated its blockade. Iran called it a clear violation of the ceasefire.

Pakistan army chief Asim Munir told Trump over the phone that the US blockade was a hurdle to talks. Trump later said the blockade would not be lifted until a deal was reached. He also refused to extend the ceasefire. However, he continued to suggest a split in the Iranian leadership and held out a “great” future for the country.

Just like Venezuela, results in Iran will be amazing: Trump

But there was no sign of Iran folding as it insisted that the US lift the naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and refrain from other aggressive action if it wanted talks. Trump, on his part, maintained that the US will not lift the naval blockade until an agreement is signed, and the bombing of Iran will resume on Wednesday evening at the end of the two-week ceasefire.

All this left Vance waiting to board Air Force Two for a 15-hour flight to Islamabad for talks with no guaranteed outcome. Bizarrely, Trump first told US news outlets that Vance would not be going due to security concerns and then reversed course to say he was going, but then appeared to derail the trip by announcing the seizure of the Iranian cargo ship that he said was trying to evade a US blockade.

The announcement effectively scuppered talks.

“While claiming diplomacy and readiness for negotiations, the US is carrying out behaviour that does not in any way indicate seriousness in pursuing a diplomatic process,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in Tehran. “We have no plans for the next round of negotiation, and no decision has been made in this regard,” Baqaei said.



In Washington, Trump also pushed back at the growing perception in the US that he was led into the war by Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu. “Israel never talked me into the war with Iran, the results of Oct 7th, added to my lifelong opinion that IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON, did,” he said in a social media post.

The administration faces growing pressure from voters and lawmakers to explain how much it is spending on the war amid rising prices, especially on gas, which has gone up from around $2.5-$3 a gallon before the war to more than $4 in most parts of the country.

“I watch and read the FAKE NEWS Pundits and Polls in total disbelief. 90% of what they say is lies, and the polls are rigged, much as the 2020 Presidential Election was rigged,” Trump raged, adding, “Just like the results in Venezuela, which the media doesn’t like talking about, the results in Iran will be amazing.”