Iran is considering a new round of peace talks with the United States in Pakistan, according to a senior Iranian official who spoke to Reuters on Monday. The official said mediator Pakistan is making positive efforts to end a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports. That blockade is a major hurdle for Tehran to rejoin the peace process.
The talks would be a second rIound of negotiations between senior Iranian and American officials. The first round took place in Islamabad on April 11, lasting about 21 hours. That meeting included Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and U.S. Vice President JD Vance. Those initial talks failed to produce a lasting agreement.
A fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is set to expire this week. The naval blockade at the center of the dispute officially began on April 13. It was ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump after the first round of Islamabad talks failed to reach a deal. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is enforcing the blockade, which covers the entire Iranian coastline. Under the order, the entry and exit of any ships from Iranian ports is restricted.
On Sunday, Iran formally rejected participation in a second round of talks. State-run IRNA news agency cited Washington’s "excessive demands, unrealistic expectations, constant shifts in stance, repeated contradictions, and the ongoing naval blockade" as the reasons. Iranian state media said Tehran will not send a delegation to Pakistan as long as the naval blockade remains in place. Iran’s military has called the blockade "illegal" and an act of "piracy".
Over the weekend, U.S. forces seized an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel in the Arabian Sea. CENTCOM said the ship had ignored repeated warnings to change course. The USS Spruance fired into the ship’s engine room to disable it. A U.S. official said at least 25 commercial vessels have been ordered to turn back since the blockade began. President Trump said after the seizure that the U.S. blockade "will remain in full force" until Tehran reaches a deal.
The blockade has almost completely closed the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway normally carries about 20 percent of global oil supply. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced the closure of the strait starting in the afternoon on an unspecified date, saying the measure will stay until the U.S. blockade is lifted. Iran has threatened to keep the strait closed until the blockade ends.
Despite the tensions, Pakistan continues to mediate. Pakistan’s army chief told President Trump the blockade is hampering Islamabad’s efforts to arrange a second round of negotiations. The U.S. has sanctioned over 170 vessels involved in shipping Iranian petroleum, part of a sustained campaign to cut off oil revenue to Tehran.