Iran turns away from fresh round of talks after US seizes cargo ship

The ceasefire may be holding (relatively speaking), but things appear to be going south in the Strait of Hormuz. The US Navy seized an Iranian cargo ship overnight as Washington maintains a blockade on Iran’s ports, with the US holding the vessel in its custody and “seeing what’s on board,” US President Donald Trump said.

The seizure of the Iranian vessel follows a separate attack from Iran’s navy on two Indian ships attempting to pass through the strait over the weekend. Iran had briefly reopened the strait — jumpstarting a flurry of vessel movement — before deciding to close the waterway again in response to the US’ continued blockade.

Iran is refusing to come back to the negotiating table and will not be attending the next round of talks scheduled to take place in Islamabad tomorrow. A US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance is meant to be heading to Pakistan for the negotiations. It remains unclear whether the two sides will agree to extend the ceasefire, as earlier reports had suggested.