Islamabad talks in limbo as Tehran says it will retaliate after US marines capture an Iranian-flagged ship near the Strait of Hormuz.
Published On 20 Apr 2026
Donald Trump announced on Sunday that a second round of US-Iran talks is to be held in Pakistan on Monday – but Tehran has not confirmed participation, two days before a ceasefire deal expires.
The capture by US Marines of an Iranian-flagged container ship near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday has further clouded the Islamabad talks, as Tehran has pledged to retaliate.
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The attack came hours after President Trump announced he is sending a team to Islamabad for talks, while once again threatening to knock out Iran’s power plants and bridges if there is no deal. The ceasefire, which ended more than a month of war, expires on Wednesday.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, spoke on Sunday with Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian, as he reaffirmed his government’s readiness to mediate the conflict.
Here is what we know:
In Iran
- Iran’s top joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya, accused the US of violating the ceasefire by shooting at an Iranian ship in the Gulf of Oman and vowed to retaliate.
- President Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday that US Marines captured a vessel that tried to get past the American blockade on Iranian ports, adding that US forces stopped the ship by blowing a hole in its engine room.
- Iran executed two men convicted of cooperating with Israel’s Mossad intelligence service and planning attacks inside the country, the judiciary’s news outlet Mizan reported on Sunday.
- French shipping company, CMA CGM, confirmed on Sunday that “warning shots” were fired at one of its ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.
- Iran’s armed forces turned back two tankers attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday after issuing warnings. The semi-official Tasnim news agency said that was a result of the continuing US maritime blockade on Iran.
- International flights from Mashhad airport in northeast Iran will resume on Monday, the civil aviation authority said.
War diplomacy
- Iranian state media reported that Tehran had rejected new peace talks, citing the ongoing blockade, threatening rhetoric, and Washington’s shifting positions and “excessive demands.”
- Iranian state media reported on Sunday that Tehran was not planning to take part in talks with the United States, hours after Trump said he was dispatching negotiators to Islamabad.
- The US president posted on Truth Social on Sunday that representatives are going to Islamabad “tomorrow night” for Iran negotiations. “We’re offering a very fair and reasonable deal, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single power plant, and every single bridge, in Iran,” Trump wrote.
- Pakistan’s Prime Minister Sharif said on Sunday that he spoke with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian about the conflict in the Gulf.
Sharif posted on X that he shared insights with Pezeshkian regarding his recent conversations with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye. - “I appreciated Iran’s engagement, including its high-level delegation to Islamabad for the historic talks, and recent discussions with Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir in Tehran,” Sharif said.
- Turkiye’s Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, said on Sunday he was “optimistic” that a two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States, which expires on Wednesday, would be extended, allowing more time for talks between the sides.
Vice President JD Vance led the US delegation for the first round of talks in Islamabad. They ended without a deal [Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/AP Photo]
In the US
- Trump said on Sunday that the guided-missile destroyer, USS Spruance, fired on and seized the Iranian-flagged cargo ship, Touska, in the Gulf of Oman, and US Marines were “seeing what’s on board!”
- The US president said Iran has committed a “serious violation” of the ceasefire but still thinks he can get a peace deal, ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl posted on X on Sunday. Trump added that a peace deal “will happen. One way or another”.
In Israel
- Argentine President Javier Milei, has reaffirmed his country’s support for the campaign against Iran, citing his government’s earlier decision to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a “terrorist organisation”.
- Milei, who is visiting Israel for the third time since taking office, declared on Sunday that the joint US-Israel war against Iran was the “right thing to do”, as he signed on to the so-called Isaac Accords aimed at deepening bilateral ties between Israel and Latin American countries.
In Lebanon
- The Israeli military on Monday warned residents in southern Lebanon not to move south of a specified line of villages or approach areas near the Litani River, saying its forces remain deployed in the area during a ceasefire due to what it described as continued Hezbollah activity.
- The Israeli army also said it had determined that an image circulating on social media showing a soldier in south Lebanon hitting a statue of Jesus Christ is authentic and depicts one of its troops.
- The viral photo of the Israeli soldier hitting the Jesus statue with a sledgehammer has sparked outrage.
- French President Emmanuel Macron is due to meet Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Paris on Tuesday. The announcement follows the killing of a French peacekeeper in Lebanon during the fragile 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
- Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military will use “full force” in Lebanon – even during the ongoing ceasefire – should Israeli troops face any threat from Hezbollah.
- Lebanon’s military said it has reopened a road and bridge between Nabatieh and Khardali, which were damaged by Israeli strikes in the south.
Oil prices rise
- Oil prices surged on Monday following the re-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East war However, lingering hopes that a deal to end the seven-week crisis continued to support equities, despite Tehran saying it was not planning to attend peace talks.