Doubts over Second Round of US – Iran Talks on Monday, Trump Claims it is On, Iran Says “Not Yet Ready”
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Apr 19: Even as the US President Donald Trump has said the second round of talks with Iran would be held on Monday in Pakistan, Iran said it was not yet ready to hold the next round of in-person talks with US officials blaming Washington’s unwillingness to move away from “maximalist” demands on key issues.
Instead Iran doubled down on its pledge to restrict ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz as long as the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports remains in place, as mediators scrambled to extend the ceasefire set to expire on Wednesday. “It is impossible for others to pass through the Strait of Hormuz while we cannot,” Iranian parliamentary Speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday.
President Trump in a Truth Social post that the US representatives were headed to Islamabad, adding that they would be there on Monday evening for negotiations. But Ghalibaf said while “progress has been made” in negotiations to end the war with the United States, the two sides were “far from final discussion.” “There are some issues on which we insist… They also have red lines. But these issues could be just one or two,” Ghalibaf said while speaking to state television. “We are still far from the final discussion.” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh also asserted that his country won’t hand over enriched uranium to Washington, rubbishing claims made by US President.
The blockades of the Iranian ports by the US navy have complicated Pakistani-led mediation attempts and raised questions about whether the two-week truce can be extended. Ghalibaf, who is Iran’s chief negotiator in talks with the United States, slammed the U.S. blockade as a “naive decision made out of ignorance.” He said Iran still was seeking peace despite deep-seated distrust of the United States.
Iran said it has brought the Strait of Hormuz back under strict control after briefly declaring it open, citing the ongoing US blockade, while officials said several vessels have been turned back in recent days; at the same time, maritime authorities reported gunfire and a projectile incident involving Indian ships in the waterway, raising safety concerns, as Iran confirmed it was reviewing new US proposals but no date has been set for the next round of talks, and a ceasefire linked to fighting involving Hezbollah in Lebanon continues to hold despite ongoing strikes and warnings from both sides.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Pakistani counterpart, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, have talked about the US-Israel war on Iran during a phone call. The two leaders “discussed and exchanged views on the latest regional and international developments and bilateral relations,” according Iranian media reports.
Trump, in his post on Truth Social, didn’t detail which officials the US would be sending for its second round to talks with Iran, but the US ambassador to the UN was quoted by the media as saying that Vice-president JD Vance (who also led the first round of in-person talks) would again lead the American delegation.
Mr Trump contrary to Iran’s charges claimed that Iran’s actions around the strategic waterway were counterproductive. “Iran recently announced that they were closing the Strait, which is strange, because our BLOCKADE has already closed it. They’re helping us without knowing, and they are the ones that lose with the closed passage, $500 Million Dollars a day! The United States loses nothing.”
Ghalibaf, who is Iran’s chief negotiator in talks with the US, slammed the U.S. blockade as a “naive decision made out of ignorance.” He said Iran still was seeking peace despite deep-seated distrust of the United States. “The gaps remain wide and some fundamental issues are still unresolved,” he said.
Iran had announced the strait’s reopening after a 10-day truce between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon took hold on Friday. But after Mr Trump said the US blockade of Iran’s ports “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with the United States, Iran said it would continue enforcing its restrictions in the strait.
After a brief uptick in transit attempts on Saturday, vessels in the Persian Gulf held their positions, wary after two India-flagged ships were fired on mid-transit and forced to turn around. Their retreat returned the strait, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil trade normally passes, to its pre-ceasefire status quo, threatening to deepen the global energy crisis and push the parties toward renewed conflict as the war entered its eighth week.
With days until the ceasefire in place between the U.S. and Iran runs out, Iran on Saturday said it had received new proposals from the United States, and Pakistani mediators were working to arrange another round of direct negotiations.
Revolutionary Guard gunboats opened fire on a tanker and a projectile hit a container vessel, damaging some containers, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said. India’s Foreign Ministry said it summoned Iran’s ambassador over the “serious incident” of firing on two India-flagged merchant ships, especially after Iran earlier let several India-bound ships through.
“Americans are risking the international community, risking the global economy through these, I can say, miscalculations,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said adding that the U.S. was “risking the whole ceasefire package.”
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council issued a statement calling the blockade a violation of the ceasefire and said Iran would prevent “any conditional and limited reopening” of the strait. The council has recently acted as Iran’s de facto top decision-making body.
Since most supplies to U.S. military bases in the Gulf region come through the strait, “Iran is determined to maintain oversight and control over traffic through the strait until the war fully ends,” the council said. That means Iran-designated routes, payment of fees and issuance of transit certificates.
The renewed standoff over the strait came hours after Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said his country was working to “bridge” differences between the U.S. and Iran. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said “new proposals” from the U.S. had been put forward during a visit to Iran by Pakistan’s army chief and were being reviewed.
But Khatibzadeh said the Iranians were not ready for a new round of face-to-face talks because the Americans “have not abandoned their maximalist position.” He also said Iran would not hand over its stock of 970 pounds (440 kilograms) of enriched uranium to the United States, calling the idea “a nonstarter.” Khatibzadeh did not address other proposals for the enriched uranium, saying only that “we are ready to address any concerns.”
Two Indian-flagged tankers had turned back in the Strait of Hormuz after being fired upon by Iranian gunboats on Saturday as the waterway that carries one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas remains at the centre of confusion in the middle of the West Asia war. No injuries were reported, and the vessels were not damaged in the firing, sources said.
A distress message from one of the tankers has now emerged, capturing the confusion that ensued during the firing. A crew member on board the crude oil tanker, Sanmar Herald, is heard trying to communicate with the Iranian navy in a roughly 30-second audio shared by Tanker Trackers, a maritime intelligence firm that tracks shipments. “Sepah Navy. Sepah Navy. This is motor tanker Sanmar Herald. You gave me clearance to go. My name is second on your list. You are firing now. Let me turn back,” the individual was heard saying.
Citing footage recorded by it, American broadcaster NBC also reported that the vessel was in the strait’s ‘Green Area’. The tanker had turned off its Automatic Identification System (AIS) while heading eastbound but turned it back on the eastern side. The other vessel that came under firing was identified as Jag Arnav.
New Delhi summoned the Iranian ambassador after the incident and conveyed India’s “deep concern” over the firing incident. The Foreign Secretary “noted the importance that India attached to the safety of merchant shipping and mariners and recalled that Iran had earlier facilitated the safe passage of several ships bound for India,” the Ministry of External Affairs said.
