President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.
Following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire,initial U.S.-Iran talksin Pakistan earlier this month failed to reach a peace deal. The original ceasefire is set to expire on April 22.
Trump said on Sunday that U.S. negotiators would return to Islamabad on Monday for a new round of talks. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Vice President JD Vance would accompany special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, to Islamabad.
But Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Monday that Tehran has "no plans" to participate.
Latest Developments
Apr 20, 7:11 AMUS Embassy Baghdad says Iran-aligned militias still planning attacks
The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad issued a fresh warning to American citizens of the danger posed by Iranian-aligned militias in Iraq, as the country reopened its airspace and some commercial flights resumed."Iraq's Iran-aligned terrorist militias continue planning additional attacks against U.S. citizens and U.S.-associated targets throughout Iraq, including in the Iraqi Kurdistan region," the Embassy said in a post to X. "Some entities associated with the Iraqi government continue to provide effective political, financial and operational cover to these terrorist militias.""Iraq's airspace has reopened and limited commercial flights have resumed. U.S. citizens considering air travel through Iraq should be aware of the ongoing risks of missiles, drones and projectiles in Iraqi airspace," the Embassy wrote.
Apr 20, 6:48 AMNetanyahu 'stunned' by photo of soldier destroying Jesus statue
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a statement to social media on Monday addressing the incident in which an Israeli soldier was photographed taking a sledgehammer to the face of a torn down statue of Jesus Christ in southern Lebanon.Netanyahu said he was "stunned and saddened to learn that an IDF soldier damaged a Catholic religious icon in southern Lebanon.""I condemn the act in the strongest terms. Military authorities are conducting a criminal probe of the matter and will take appropriately harsh disciplinary action against the offender," Netanyahu added.-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Victoria Beaule
Apr 20, 6:23 AMIran not willing to give up enriched uranium, spokesperson says
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said in a Monday press conference that the transferral of the country's enriched uranium stockpiles abroad as part of any future peace deal "is not on the Islamic Republic's agenda."Baghaei said Tehran is reviewing a U.S. proposal conveyed by Pakistan's army chief during a recent visit, but rejected media speculation about the details of the offer."The country's definitive position is to preserve nuclear achievements within Iran's territory and the claims made in this regard are completely denied," Baghaei said.Discussing continued disruption to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, Baghaei also said that the "normalization of traffic is not possible," citing what he said were "repeated violations of the ceasefire and threats to Iranian ports and ships by the U.S."-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian
Apr 20, 4:55 AMIran to respond to US 'aggression' against cargo vessel, military says
The spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters -- the country's top joint military command -- said in a statement on Monday that Iran would respond to the U.S. "aggression" against an Iranian merchant vessel in the Gulf of Oman, Iranian state television reported on Telegram.Iranian forces will take "necessary action" in response to the American seizure of the M/V Touska on Sunday, the spokesperson said.-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian
Apr 20, 4:43 AMChina concerned by US seizure of Iranian vessel, official says
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun on Monday expressed concern over the U.S. disabling and seizing the Iran-flagged M/V Touska cargo vessel on Sunday.Guo said at a press conference that the "relevant parties" should take a "responsible attitude," while reiterating that the Strait of Hormuz is an "international strait" and that "unimpeded passage" is a "common interest of the international community."The Touska's most recent port may have been Klang, Malaysia, but before that it departed from Zhuhai in southern China.
-ABC News' Karson Yiu
Apr 20, 4:35 AMIran has 'no plans' for new round of talks, spokesperson says
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Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Monday that Iran has not yet made any decision regarding a potential new round of peace talks with the U.S. in Islamabad."As of now that I am here, we have no plans for the next round of negotiations," Baghaei said in a press conference, as quoted by Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency.Referring to the possible continuation of talks in Pakistan, Baghaei said, "We have clearly announced the red lines and unacceptable items from the beginning, and insisting on them will not change our principled positions."
Baghaei told reporters that the U.S. and Israel are to blame for the ongoing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz."The international community must hold these two actors accountable for making the region insecure," Baghaei said, adding that U.S. conduct "has shown that it is not serious about pursuing the diplomatic process."Baghaei cited ongoing Israeli strikes in Lebanon, the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and Sunday's seizure of an Iranian cargo vessel as "clear examples" of "aggressive acts."Baghaei added that the repeated U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran over the past nine months have undermined Tehran's trust in American diplomacy.-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian
Apr 20, 3:28 AMMarines from USS Tripoli seized Iranian vessel, CENTCOM says
U.S. Central Command posted a video of the seizure of the Iran-flagged M/V Touska container ship, which it said was seized by helicopter-borne Marines on Sunday.CENTCOM said the vessel was first disabled by fire from the guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance after the M/V Touska "failed to comply with repeated warnings from U.S. forces over a six-hour period."The Marines that seized the Iranian vessel were operating from the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli, CENTCOM said.
-ABC News' Camilla Alcini
Apr 19, 6:44 PMIran vows to retaliate after US seizes Iranian cargo ship: State media
The Iranian Military Headquarters said that the U.S. has broken the ceasefire after President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. Navy had attacked and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman.The Iranian military claimed the move "violated the ceasefire and maritime piracy," according to the statement published on the Iranian state news outlet FARS."The aggressor America violated the ceasefire and maritime piracy by firing at an Iranian merchant ship in the waters of the Sea of Oman, disabling its navigation system, and landing a number of its terrorist marines on the deck of the vessel," the statement read.The Iranian military said it would "soon respond and retaliate against this armed piracy by the US military."
Apr 19, 4:18 PMTrump says US Navy attacked and seized Iranian-flagged cargo ship
President Donald Trump said in a post on his social media platform Sunday afternoon that the U.S. Navy had attacked an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman and that U.S. Marines have taken custody of the vessel.“Today, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship named TOUSKA, nearly 900 feet long and weighing almost as much as an aircraft carrier, tried to get past our Naval Blockade, and it did not go well for them,” Trump said in the post.
U.S. Central Command confirmed that the destroyer USS Spruance intercepted the Touska as it transited the North Arabian Sea towards the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.
After repeated warnings over a six-hour timespan, the destroyer warned the Touska’s crew to vacate the engine room and fired several rounds at that location from its five-inch gun, according to CENTCOM.
Marines later boarded the ship, and it remains in U.S. custody, CENTCOM said.
It appears to be the first instance of the U.S. attacking and seizing a merchant vessel since it instituted the blockade of Iranian ports.The president further wrote that "U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel," which he said 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!"The move comes after Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine warned that the U.S. would actively enforce the blockade on Iranian-flagged vessels around the globe."In addition to this blockade, the joint force, through operations and activities in other areas of responsibility, like the Pacific area of responsibility under the command of Admiral Paparo, will actively pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran. This includes Dark Fleet vessels carrying Iranian oil," Cainesaid in a Pentagon press conferenceThursday.-ABC News' Nicholas Kerr
Apr 19, 3:55 PMTrump says 'the concept of' a peace deal with Iran is done
As Tehran asserts that it will not participate in a second round of in-person talks with U.S. negotiators in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Monday unless the naval blockade on Iranian ports is lifted, President Donald Trump is claiming that a peace deal is almost complete."I feel fine about it. The concept of the deal is done. I think we have a very good chance to get it completed," Trump told Axios in an interview on Sunday.The president offered no details regarding what was in the deal.
Trump's comments to Axios were published just hours after hethreatenedto bomb all of Iran's power plants and bridges if the Iranians don't sign the deal.“If the deal isn’t done, the deal that we made, then I’m going to take out their bridges and their power plants," TrumptoldFox News in a separate interview. “If they don’t sign this thing, the whole country is going to get blown up.”The presidenttold ABC News' Jonathan Karlsomething similar Sunday."It’s going to be very good," Trump said. "They are either going to do it or they are going to have problems. We’ll see what happens."The present ceasefire agreement is set to expire on Wednesday.-ABC News' Nicholas Kerr
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