Last-minute ceasefire talks between the United States and Iran looked uncertain Tuesday as a two-week truce was set to expire and both countries warned that, without a deal, they were prepared to resume fighting.
US Vice President JD Vance, expected to lead US negotiators if talks continue in Pakistan, remained in Washington on Tuesday, a White House official said. And Pakistan, which has been urging both sides to return to Islamabad, said it was still awaiting confirmation on whether Iran would participate.
Earlier in the day, two regional officials said Washington and Tehran had signaled they would hold a second round of talks, with Vance leading the US team and Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf as its top negotiator. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.
But Pakistan's information minister, Attaullah Tarar, said later Tuesday on X that Iran had not formally confirmed its participation, which was set to expire Wednesday. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told Iran's state TV there has been "no final decision" on whether to attend because of "unacceptable actions" by the US, apparently referencing its recent blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.
Vance had policy meetings scheduled at the White House on Wednesday morning, said a White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The vice president's office and the White House did not immediately respond to messages asking whether Vance still intends to travel to Pakistan.
Trump not in favour extending ceasefire
Both sides remain dug in rhetorically. US President Donald Trump has warned that "lots of bombs" will "start going off" if there's no agreement before the ceasefire deadline, and Iran's chief negotiator said that Tehran has "new cards on the battlefield" that haven't yet been revealed.
The ceasefire, which began April 8, could be extended if talks resume, though Trump said in an interview Tuesday with CNBC: "Well, I don't want to do that."
"We don't have that much time," Trump said, adding that Iran "had a choice" and "they have to negotiate."
White House officials have said that Vance would lead the American delegation, but Iran hasn't said who it might send. Iranian state television on Tuesday broadcast a message saying that "no delegation from Iran has visited Islamabad … so far."
US forces board sanctioned oil tanker
On Tuesday, the US said its forces boarded an oil tanker previously sanctioned for smuggling Iranian crude oil in Asia. The Pentagon said in a social media post that US forces boarded the M/T Tifani "without incident."
The US military did not say where the vessel had been boarded, though ship-tracking data showed the Tifani in the Indian Ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia on Tuesday. The Pentagon statement added that "international waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels."
The US military on Sunday seized an Iranian container ship, the first interception under a blockade of Iranian ports. Iran's joint military command called the armed boarding an act of piracy and a violation of the ceasefire.
Strait of Hormuz control key to negotiations
The US imposed the blockade to pressure Tehran into ending its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane through which 20 per cent of the world's natural gas and crude oil transits in peacetime.
Iran's grip on the strait has sent oil prices soaring. Brent crude, the international standard, was trading at close to USD 95 per barrel on Tuesday, up more than 30 per cent from Feb 28, the day that Israel and the US attacked Iran to start the war.
Before the war began, the Strait of Hormuz had been fully open to international shipping. Trump has demanded that vessels again be allowed to transit unimpeded.
European Union transportation ministers were meeting Tuesday in Brussels to discuss how to protect consumers after the head of the International Energy Agency warned that Europe has " maybe six weeks " of jet fuel supplies remaining.
Over the weekend, Iran said that it had received new proposals from Washington, but also suggested that a wide gap remains between the sides. Issues that derailed the last round of negotiations included Iran's nuclear enrichment program, its regional proxies and the strait.
Qalibaf on Tuesday accused the United States of wanting Iran to surrender.
"We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats," he wrote in an X post.
Pakistan hopeful talks will proceed
Pakistani officials have expressed confidence that Iran will also send a delegation to resume talks that mark the highest-level negotiations between the US and Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The first round April 11 and 12 ended without an agreement.
Pakistan said Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met Tuesday with the acting US ambassador in Islamabad to urge a ceasefire extension. Dar also met with the ambassador from China, a key trading partner with Iran.
Security has been tightened across Pakistan's capital, where authorities have deployed thousands of personnel and increased patrols along routes leading to the airport.
Israel jails soldiers for defacing Jesus statue in Lebanon
Israel's military said Tuesday it has sentenced two soldiers to 30 days in jail and removed them from combat duty for smashing a statue of Jesus Christ in Lebanon. Images of an Israeli soldier with a sledgehammer smashing the statue's head emerged over the weekend, bringing widespread condemnation.
Israel said one of the soldiers being punished hammered the statue to the ground. The other filmed the destruction. The Israeli military said it replaced the statue.
Meanwhile, historic diplomatic talks between Israel and Lebanon were set to resume on Thursday in Washington, an Israeli, a Lebanese and a US official said. All three spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the behind-the-scenes negotiations.
The Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors met last week for the first direct diplomatic talks in decades. Israel says the talks are aimed at disarming Hezbollah and reaching a peace agreement with Lebanon.
A 10-day ceasefire began on Friday in Lebanon, where fighting between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants broke out two days after the US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran to start the war. Fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 2,290 people.
Since the war started, at least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran, according to authorities. Additionally, 23 people have died in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 US service members throughout the region have been killed.