The ceasefire agreement between Iran and the US appears to be in jeopardy, as Tehran refused to join a second round of talks which mediators hoped would begin this week.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said his government had no plans to resume talks for now after US forces seized an Iranian-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman.
Washington had hoped to resume negotiations in Pakistan shortly before the two-week ceasefire expires on Wednesday, but Baghaei said the US was “not serious” about peace, demonstrated by its “aggressive acts” and “unrealistic positions”.
A senior Iranian source said the continuation of the US blockade on its ports was undermining the possibility of peace talks, adding that Tehran’s “defensive capabilities” would not be open to negotiation.
Tehran has also warned it is ready to confront the US following the tanker seizure, and that it will take the necessary action in response. Whether this means a resumption in warfare is as yet unclear.
Overall shipping traffic remained at a standstill through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, according to ship tracking data, with significant gaps remaining between the two sides on how to reopen the waterway.
After the ceasefire began, Donald Trump rubbished a widely reported 10-point plan that Iran said Washington had already agreed in principle would serve as a basis for future peace talks.
Although both the US and Iran have declared victory in the war which started on 28 February and has killed thousands, their core disputes remain unresolved.
What is Iran’s 10-point plan?
Trump said with the announcement of a ceasefire that he had received a 10-point proposal from Iran, judging it “a workable basis on which to negotiate”. He said that almost all of the points have been agreed, but did not reveal what they are.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, the country’s top security body, then published a list of points it said Washington had agreed to and “in principle, committed to”. These included:
- non-aggression
- continued Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz
- acceptance of enrichment
- lifting all primary and secondary sanctions
- termination of all resolutions passed by the UN Security Council and the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency
- withdrawal of US combat forces from the region
- cessation of war on all fronts, including against the Islamic resistance in Lebanon.
There was uncertainty, however, as President Trump suggested there were “numerous” bogus lists circulating. He said there was “only one group of meaningful “POINTS that are acceptable to the United States”, which the US would be discussing behind closed doors with Iran in Pakistan.
He later accused US media of reporting on a “totally FAKE TEN POINT PLAN”. Those outlets had reported on the plan as described by Iran, noting that Tehran was also considering a 15-point proposal from the US. Trump told the AFP news agency that there was a “15-point transaction, of which most of those things have been agreed on”.
Iran had already rejected a 15-point plan, dismissing it as “unreasonable”, despite Trump claiming in March that Tehran had agreed to “most of” the points. It was unclear whether this was still under consideration in some form.
The president wrote two weeks ago that the US would keep ships, aircraft and personnel in the region, against one of Iran’s apparent demands.
Iran’s nuclear programme
There was also confusion around the “acceptance of enrichment” of nuclear materials mentioned in Tehran’s plan. Trump had originally cited Iran’s nuclear programme and enrichment as a justification for the conflict.
The president said Iran had agreed to stop enriching uranium, which can be turned into nuclear weapons, and the White House said Iran has indicated it would turn over its existing stocks.
“The United States will, working with Iran, dig up and remove all of the deeply buried … Nuclear ‘Dust’,” Trump said on social media. His defence secretary Pete Hegseth said that Iran would have to hand over its uranium, “or we’ll take it out”.
Trump later warned that the US would forcefully take it if Iran did not agree a deal.
“We’ll go in with Iran, and we will take it together, and we will bring it back to the US,” he told reporters while travelling back to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. “If we don’t do that, we will get it in a different form—a much more unfriendly form.”
Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, however, has said it is allowed to continue enriching uranium under the terms of the ceasefire.
The Associated Press reported that the Persian-language version of the plan seen by journalists insisted on Iran’s right to continue enrichment. The English version of the plan did not include that clause for reasons that were unclear, they said.
The Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said that for the duration of the ceasefire, Tehran would stop counterattacks and provide safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump, in turn, said the US would stop attacks so long as Iran retracts its effective blockade of the strait, through which about one-fifth of global oil and gas shipments travel.
A first vessel transited the global oil chokepoint with Tehran’s permission immediately after the ceasefire, according to Iranian state TV, but shipping sources said that the Iranian navy was threatening ships with destruction if they tried to pass.
On 17 April, Iran’s foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi announced that the Strait of Hormuz is now completely open for all commercial vessels for the duration of the ceasefire in Lebanon. It said military vessels were not included by this.
In response to the news, Trump said in a post on Truth Social: “Iran has just announced that the Strait of Iran is fully open and ready for full passage. Thank you!”
But the US did not lift its blockade of Iranian ports in response, which appears to have halted progress in arranging further peace talks. On Saturday, Iran said the strait would be closed again.
The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea says countries bordering straits cannot demand payment simply for permission to pass through.
A ceasefire for Lebanon
A truce took hold on Friday between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, providing relief on both sides of the border and an opening for Iran and the United States to reach a deal to end the wider war.
It followed a dispute between Washington and Tehran over whether the terms of their ceasefire included a truce in Lebanon.
But major obstacles remain, as Hezbollah has not formally agreed to the truce and wants Israel to withdraw. Israel says it is “not finished” dismantling the Iran-backed militant group and has announced plans to occupy a swath of southern Lebanon.
More than a million people in Lebanon have been displaced by Israeli strikes, and over 1,700 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since 2 March, including at least 130 children, according to the Lebanese authorities.
The 10-day truce has largely held so far – but whether it will stay in place if the US and Iran resume their conflict is uncertain.
What’s next for diplomacy?
Trump said his envoys would arrive in Islamabad on Monday evening, one day before the two-week ceasefire ends.
A White House official said the US delegation would be headed by JD Vance, who led the US delegation to the first round of talks a week ago, and also include Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner.
But Trump told ABC News and MS Now that Vance would not go.
Pakistan, which has served as the main mediator, was still gearing up for the talks.
Nearly 20,000 police, paramilitary and army personnel have been deployed across the capital Islamabad, a government and a security official said.
But as it stands, it does not appear that Tehran will be attending the talks.
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