The United States said on Wednesday its military had completely halted trade going in and out of Iran by sea, even though President Donald Trump said talks with Tehran on ending the war could resume this week.
Trump said negotiations between U.S. and Iranian officials could resume in Pakistan in the next two days and Vice President JD Vance, who led weekend talks that ended without a breakthrough, said he felt positive about where things stood.
"I think you’re going to be watching an amazing two days ahead," Trump told ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl, adding he did not think it would be necessary to extend a two-week ceasefire that ends on 21 April.
"It could end either way, but I think a deal is preferable because then they can rebuild," Trump said, according to a post by Karl on X. "They really do have a different regime now. No matter what, we took out the radicals."
Officials from Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf also said negotiating teams from the U.S. and Iran could return to Pakistan later this week, although one senior Iranian source said no date had been set.
Despite the optimistic note, more vessels were being turned back under the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports, including a U.S.-sanctioned and Chinese-owned tanker Rich Starry that was making its way back to the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday after exiting the Persian Gulf.
Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of the U.S. Central Command, said American forces had completely halted economic trade going in and out of Iran by sea, which he said fuels 90% of Iran's economy.
"In less than 36 hours since the blockade was implemented, U.S. forces have completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea," Cooper said in a post on X.
Earlier the U.S. military said it had intercepted eight Iran-linked oil tankers since the start of the blockade on Monday, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Trump, speaking to the New York Post on Tuesday (14 April), said his negotiators are likely to be back, thanks largely to the "great job" Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, was doing to moderate the talks.
Later on Tuesday, at an event in Georgia, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Trump wanted to make a "grand bargain" with Iran but there was a lot of mistrust between the two countries.
"You are not going to solve that problem overnight," he said.
The signs of diplomatic engagement to end the conflict that began on 28 February helped calm oil markets, pressing benchmark prices down for a second day on Wednesday. Asian stocks rose while the safe-haven dollar stabilised after falling for a seventh straight session overnight.
The war has prompted Iran to effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial global waterway for crude and gas transport and cut shipments from the Gulf to global buyers, particularly in Asia and Europe.
About 5,000 people have died in the hostilities, including about 3,000 in Iran and 2,000 in Lebanon according to official figures.
Iran's nuclear ambitions were a key sticking point at the weekend talks. The U.S. had proposed a 20-year suspension of all nuclear activity by Iran, while Tehran had suggested a halt of three to five years, according to people familiar with the proposals.
Speaking in Seoul, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said the length of any moratorium on Iranian uranium enrichment was a political decision and it was possible Tehran might accept a compromise as a confidence-building act.
The U.S. has also pressed for any enriched nuclear material to be removed from Iran, while Tehran has demanded that international sanctions against it be removed.
One source involved in the negotiations in Pakistan said back-channel talks since the weekend had produced progress in closing that gap, bringing the two sides closer to a deal that could be put forward at a new round of talks.
However, in a major complication for peace prospects, Israel has continued to attack Lebanon as it targets Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group. Israel and the U.S. say that campaign is not covered by the ceasefire, while Iran insists it is.
On Tuesday, the UK, Canada, Japan and seven other countries condemned the killings of United Nation peacekeepers in Lebanon and called for "an urgent end to hostilities".
The statement comes after the deaths of three Indonesian peacekeepers last month. The countries welcomed the ceasefire agreed between the U.S., Israel and Iran.
An oil tanker caught fire after striking a naval mine in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’...
French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned the violence, looting and vandalism that erupted during cost-of-living protests across France. Prime...
Tajikistan and China have launched a high-capacity digital corridor across the Pamir Mountains, creating a direct telecommunications link that coul...
An unknown projectile struck a tanker 68 nautical miles northeast of Saudi Arabia on Friday according to a report released by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) on Saturday.
What started out as planned protests against the cost of living, declining public services and education funding in France, quickly devolved into violent riots across the country on Saturday.
The day after waiving sanctions and tariffs related to Russian exports, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he has yet to announce a final decision on the matter as Secretary of State Marco Rubio said officials want more time to evaluate the situation.
A Saudi AH-6i helicopter crashed in the Najran region of Saudi Arabia due to a technical malfunction, killing its two crew members, the Saudi-led coalition's spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki said in a statement on Sunday.
U.S. President Donald Trump has criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for continuing to target Russia's energy infrastructure, while Russian strikes on Kyiv overnight killed at least one person and damaged a metro station.
An unknown projectile struck a tanker 68 nautical miles northeast of Saudi Arabia on Friday according to a report released by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) on Saturday.
The leader of Yemen's Saudi-backed government announced the beginning of a major military operation against the Iran-backed Houthis on Sunday, aimed at seizing the territory under their control.
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the United States meets seven conditions agreed under a June memorandum, as President Donald Trump signals he may soon decide whether to resume military operations against Tehran.
Governments from the Persian Gulf to the Horn of Africa are hedging against a conflict they cannot control, with contingency plans beginning to reshape trade routes, alliances and the regional map.
A supertanker which was cruising through the Strait of Hormuz was targetted by an unknown projectile off the coast of Oman, according to an Iranian news agency which said the vessel was “violating” navigation rules at the Strait of Hormuz on 1 October.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment