Tankers are seen off the coast of the Fujairah, as Iran vows to close the Strait of Hormuz, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, March 3, 2026. REUTERS\/Amr Alfiky<\/p>\n
Iran\u00a0Considers\u00a0US Talks in Pakistan With Blockade Still Unresolved<\/p>\n
DUBAI\/WASHINGTON, April 20 (Reuters)\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Iran\u00a0is considering attending\u00a0peace talks\u00a0with the United States in Pakistan, a senior\u00a0Iranian official told Reuters on Monday, following moves by Islamabad to end a U.S. blockade of\u00a0Iran\u2019s ports, a major hurdle for\u00a0Iran\u00a0to rejoin peace efforts.<\/p>\n
However, the official stressed that no decision had been made.<\/p>\n
Adding to the uncertainty, a source told Reuters that Vice President JD Vance\u00a0was still in the U.S., denying reports that he was already on his way to Pakistan\u2019s capital Islamabad for talks.<\/p>\n
With a two-week ceasefire set to expire, the senior\u00a0Iranian official said Tehran was \u201cpositively reviewing\u201d its participation but no final decision had been made. The comments conveyed a clear change of tone from earlier statements ruling out attendance and pledging to retaliate for U.S. aggression.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Iranian official said mediator Pakistan was making positive efforts to end the U.S. blockade and ensure\u00a0Iran\u2019s participation.<\/p>\n
SECURITY PREPARATIONS<\/p>\n
The ceasefire had appeared in jeopardy after the U.S. said it had seized an\u00a0Iranian cargo ship that tried to run its blockade and Tehran vowed to<\/p>\n
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday that Washington had shown it was \u201cnot serious\u201d about pursuing the\u00a0diplomatic process, and that Tehran would not change its demands.<\/p>\n
The U.S. was hoping to start negotiations in Pakistan shortly before the ceasefire expires, with sweeping security preparations under way in Islamabad, but Baghaei said the U.S. was \u201cinsisting on some unreasonable and unrealistic positions.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Pakistani security source said Pakistan\u2019s key mediator, Field Marshal Asim Munir, had told U.S. President Donald Trump the blockade was an obstacle to talks, and that Trump had promised to consider the advice.<\/p>\n
U.S.-IRAN\u00a0CEASEFIRE SET TO EXPIRE<\/p>\n
Trump announced the two-week ceasefire with\u00a0Iran\u00a0on April 7, and has not specified when precisely it ends.<\/p>\n
A Pakistani source involved in the talks said it would expire at 8 p.m. EST on Tuesday, which would be midnight GMT or 3:30 a.m. Wednesday in\u00a0Iran.<\/p>\n
Asked over the weekend about the chance of an extension, Trump replied: \u201cI don\u2019t know. Maybe not. Maybe I won\u2019t extend it. But the blockade is going to remain.\u201d<\/p>\n
The U.S. has maintained its blockade of\u00a0Iranian ports, while\u00a0Iran\u00a0lifted and then reimposed its own blockade of the\u00a0Strait of Hormuz, which typically handles roughly one-fifth of the world\u2019s oil and liquefied gas supply.<\/p>\n
Oil prices rose\u00a0around 5% as traders remained fearful that the ceasefire would collapse. Traffic through the<\/p>\n
was at a virtual standstill with just three crossings in the space of 12 hours, according to\u00a0shipping data.\u00a0O\/R<\/p>\n
U.S. MARINES BOARD\u00a0IRANIAN VESSEL<\/p>\n
The U.S. military said it had fired on an\u00a0Iranian-flagged cargo ship headed towards\u00a0Iran\u2019s Bandar Abbas port on Sunday after a six-hour standoff, disabling its engines. U.S. Central Command released video showing Marines descending ropes from helicopters onto the vessel.<\/p>\n
The vessel\u00a0is likely to have been carrying what Washington deems dual-use items that could be used by the military, maritime security sources said on Monday.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s military said the ship had been traveling from China and accused the U.S. of \u201carmed piracy,\u201d according to state media. They said they were ready to confront U.S. forces over the \u201cblatant aggression,\u201d but were constrained by the presence of crew members\u2019 families on board.<\/p>\n
China, the main buyer of\u00a0Iranian crude,\u00a0expressed concern\u00a0over the \u201cforced interception,\u201d and Chinese President Xi Jinping called for ships to resume passage through the strait as normal and for the conflict to be resolved through political and diplomatic channels, state news agency Xinhua reported.<\/p>\n
Trump warned on Sunday that the U.S. would destroy every bridge and power plant in\u00a0Iran\u00a0if it rejected his terms, continuing a recent pattern of such threats.<\/p>\n
Iran\u00a0has said that if the United States were to attack its civilian infrastructure, it would strike power stations and desalination plants in its Gulf Arab neighbors.<\/p>\n
PREPARING FOR TALKS THAT MIGHT NOT HAPPEN<\/p>\n
Pakistan geared up to host the talks despite uncertainty over whether they would go ahead. Nearly 20,000 security personnel have been deployed across the capital Islamabad, a government official and a security official said.<\/p>\n
European allies, repeatedly criticized by Trump for not aiding his war effort, worry that Washington\u2019s negotiating team is pushing for a swift,\u00a0superficial deal\u00a0that would require months or years of technically complex follow?on talks.<\/p>\n
Thousands of people have been killed by U.S.-Israeli strikes on\u00a0Iran\u00a0and in an Israeli invasion of Lebanon conducted in parallel since the war began on February 28, where a truce is also currently in place.<\/p>\n
Iran\u00a0responded to the attacks with missiles and drones against Israel and nearby Arab countries that host U.S. bases.<\/p>\n
(Reporting Reuters bureaus; Writing by Andy Sullivan, John Geddie, Alexandra Hudson and Keith Weir; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Kevin Liffey and Alison Williams)<\/p>\n