Iran is considering taking part in peace negotiations with the United States in Pakistan, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday, after Islamabad’s moves to end the U.S. blockade of Iran’s ports, a significant obstacle for Tehran to rejoin the peace efforts as the end of a two-week ceasefire approaches.
However, the official stressed that no decision had been made, and Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that ‘the ongoing ceasefire violations’ by the United States are a major obstacle to the continuation of the diplomatic process.
Araqchi told his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar, in a phone call, that Iran, while taking into account all aspects of the matter, would still decide how to proceed.
On Monday night, the negotiator and Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, accused U.S. President Donald Trump on X of increasing pressure on Tehran through the blockade and ceasefire violations, saying that Iran rejects negotiations under threat.
The two-week ceasefire in a conflict that has killed thousands and shaken the global economy, especially energy markets, is due to expire this week.
It appeared to be in peril after the United States said it had seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship attempting to break out of its blockade, and Tehran vowed to retaliate.
In negotiations in Islamabad, Trump is eager for an agreement that would help avert another rise in oil prices and a decline in stock markets. Iran hopes to leverage its control of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial navigation channel for global energy supplies, to secure an agreement that would prevent a resumption of war and allow financial relief from long-standing sanctions and some leeway for its nuclear program.
To add to the uncertainty, Vice President JD Vance remained in the United States on Monday, another source told Reuters, denying reports that he was already en route to Pakistan for talks.
The senior Iranian official who asked not to be named said Tehran was ‘positively reviewing’ its participation, a shift from earlier statements that ruled out participation and promised to retaliate against U.S. aggression.
The official said that the Pakistani mediator was making positive efforts to end the U.S. blockade and guarantee Iran’s participation.
Trump announced the two-week ceasefire with Iran on April 7, and did not specify when exactly it ends.
A Pakistani source involved in the negotiations said it would expire at 8:00 p.m. Wednesday Washington time (9:00 p.m. Brasília time) or 3:30 a.m. Thursday in Iran.
Trump said on social media that he believed his administration’s nuclear deal with Iran would be better than the 2015 international accord reached after years of negotiations with then-President Barack Obama, a Democrat.
Trump pulled out of that agreement — which was vehemently opposed by Congressional Republicans and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — in 2018, during his first term as president.
It was not clear what kind of agreement could be reached in just a few days of negotiations, but the U.S. Republican president predicted a swift outcome.
‘I am under no pressure at all, even though everything will happen, relatively quickly!’
The Blockade Presents a Problem
A Pakistani security source said the Pakistani mediator, Field Marshal Asim Munir, had told Trump that the blockade was an obstacle to negotiations and that Trump had promised to consider ending the blockade.
The United States was hoping to begin negotiations in Pakistan shortly before the end of the ceasefire.
However, the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said that ‘the non-constructive and contradictory signals from American authorities bring a bitter message; they seek Iran’s surrender’.
‘The Iranians do not submit to force,’ he added on X.
The United States kept its blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran lifted and then reimposed its own blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which normally moves about a fifth of the world’s supply of oil and liquefied natural gas.
Oil prices rose about 5%, as traders remained fearful that the ceasefire would end. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz essentially ground to a halt, with only three crossings in a 12-hour period, according to navigation data.
U.S. Marines Board Iranian Vessel
U.S. military said they fired upon an Iranian-flagged cargo ship heading for Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Sunday, after a standoff. U.S. Central Command released a video showing Marines rappelling from helicopters onto the ship.
It is likely the ship was carrying items that Washington considers dual-use that could be used by the military, security sources said on Monday.
Iranian military said the ship originated from China and accused the United States of ‘armed piracy,’ according to state media. They said they were ready to confront the U.S. forces over the ‘flagrant aggression,’ but were restrained by the presence of the crew members’ families aboard.
China, Iran’s main customer for oil, expressed concern about the ‘forced interception,’ and Chinese President Xi Jinping urged ships to resume normal passage through the strait and for the conflict to be resolved through political and diplomatic channels, Xinhua state news agency reported.
Trump warned on Sunday that the United States would destroy all of Iran’s bridges and power plants if it rejected his conditions, continuing a recent pattern of such threats.
Iran said that if the United States attacked its civil infrastructure, it would strike energy facilities and desalination plants in its Gulf Arab neighbors.
Preparing for Negotiations That Might Not Happen
Pakistan prepared to host the negotiations, despite uncertainty about whether they would go ahead. About 20,000 security personnel were mobilized in Islamabad, according to a government official and a security official.
Thousands of people have been killed by Israeli and American attacks on Iran and in an Israeli invasion of Lebanon conducted in parallel since the start of the war on February 28. A ceasefire in Lebanon is also in effect, and Washington will host a second round of ambassador-level talks between Lebanon and Israel on Thursday as part of efforts to safeguard a fragile ceasefire.
