U.S. representatives are going to Pakistan on Monday for negotiations with Iran, President Donald Trump said on Truth Social.
If a deal isn’t reached, the United States is going to knock out “every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran,” he said. Military and international law experts have said striking power plants and bridges could constitute a war crime.
Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim News Agency reported, though, that there won’t be any negotiations while a U.S. maritime blockade on ships entering or exiting Iranian ports and coastal areas is in place.
There has, however, been an exchange of messages between Iran and the United States through a Pakistani intermediary, Tasnim wrote.
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Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the phone Sunday.
The Foreign Ministry said they both “emphasized the need for continued dialogue and engagement as essential to resolving the current issues as soon as possible.”
Strait of Hormuz closure
Trump also on Sunday accused Iran of violating a temporary ceasefire agreement by firing bullets in the Strait of Hormuz.
A day after declaring the strait was open, Iran said it was again closed due to the United States’ blockade.
On Saturday morning, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said there were attacks on a tanker and a container ship in the strait. The tanker was fired on by two Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps boats, while an “unknown projectile” hit the container ship, UKMTO said.
“Iran recently announced that they were closing the Strait, which is strange, because our BLOCKADE has already closed it,” Trump said on social media.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei called the U.S blockade a violation of the ceasefire, and “also both unlawful and criminal.”
He said it violated the United Nations Charter and deliberately inflicts “collective punishment on the Iranian population,” amounting to a war crime.
U.S. Central Command said on Saturday that 23 ships have complied with U.S. forces’ mandate to turn around amid the blockade.
The U.S. Navy intercepted an Iranian-flagged cargo ship called TOUSKA in the Gulf of Oman, Trump said Saturday afternoon.
An Iranian crew “refused to listen” to a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer’s warnings to stop, Trump said, so the Navy ship blew a hole in the Iranian vessel’s engine room.
“Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel,” Trump said. “The TOUSKA is under U.S. Treasury Sanctions because of their prior history of illegal activity. We have full custody of the ship, and are seeing what’s on board!”
Iran’s military called the attack “maritime piracy” and vowed to respond soon.
Ceasefire set to expire
The current ceasefire agreement between Iran and the U.S. is set to expire this week. While delegations from the U.S. and Iran had face-to-face talks last weekend, they were unable to come to an agreement after 21 hours of negotiations.
When it comes to potential talks with Iran, UN Ambassador Mike Waltz said on NBC News‘ “Meet the Press” that U.S representatives will “see what the Iranians decide to do.”
“Everything’s on the table,” he said.
In an interview carried by state media, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said “there will be no retreat in the field of diplomacy” regarding negotiations.
A regional official said Pakistani authorities started tightening security in Islamabad, according to The Associated Press. The official said U.S. advance security teams were already on the ground.
