Iran ‘rejects’ participation in second round of talks; US negotiators to be in Islamabad

Iran's official news agency IRNA said that the country has rejected taking part in the second round of the peace talks with the United States, which were reportedly to be held in Pakistan soon. Iran's top joint military command said on Monday that Iran will soon respond to "armed maritime piracy" by the US military, according to media reports. Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters warned Iran will "soon respond" to US "armed maritime piracy" after American forces fired on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Gulf of Oman, disabled its navigation system, and boarded it with armed commandos, Xinhua news agency reported quoting Press TV.

In response, Iran carried out drone attacks on US warships, causing the US forces to retreat, according to state-run IRIB and the semi-official Mehr news agency. US President Donald Trump said on Sunday the United States forcibly seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that tried to get around a naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz. A US Navy guided missile destroyer in the Gulf of Oman "stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room," and the US Marines had custody of the vessel, he said. Meanwhile, Trump has signaled that American negotiators would be in Pakistan's Islamabad on Monday for the fresh round of talks amid a shaky ceasefire which is due to expire on Wednesday, April 22. Trump on Sunday announced that a team of negotiators from the US will be heading to Pakistan this week, set to arrive in Islamabad on Monday. "My Representatives are going to Islamabad, Pakistan - They will be there tomorrow evening, for Negotiations," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.