US optimistic about Iran talks ‘this week’

WASHINGTON/TEHRAN: As the Iran-US ceasefire extension created space for further diplomacy, US Presi­dent Donald Trump on Wednesday hoped a second round of talks could take place within two to three days, despite persistent mistrust.

“It’s possible!” President Trump reportedly told the New York Post by text message, after the newspaper reached out to him to confirm whether the talks were “expected in Islamabad within the next 36 to 72 hours”.

The optimism was in contrast to tensions in the Strait of Hormuz amid a blockade of Iranian ports by the US and the Iranian navy’s seizure of at least two ships on Wednesday, which were directed to the Iranian coast after they tried to cross the strait, and statements by Iran­ian officials accusing the US of violating the ceasefire by blockading the ports.

The US, however, insisted the blockade would continue, with reports claiming that Iran had only a few days to share its proposal. US outlet Axios quoted an American source who claimed that Pres­ident Trump had given Iran only a few days to come up with a unified proposal.

“Trump is willing to give another three to five days of ceasefire to allow the Iranians” to get their affairs in order. “It is not going to be open-ended,” Axios reported.

Fox News also reported the development, citing an unnamed US official. In his social media post that announced the extension of the ceasefire, the US president had said the ceasefire was extended till the Iranian government, which was “fractured”, came up with a proposal, without giving an explicit deadline.

However, Trump later denied these media reports, saying there is “no time pressure” surrounding the ceasefire, or agreeing to a new date for talks with Iran, Fox News reported late in the day.

He told Fox News that reports about three- to five-day window for the ceasefire extension were “false”.

Asked when the war might end, he said there was “no time frame” and no rush.

Meanwhile, Tehran took exception to the claims of divisions. Mehdi Tabatabaei, deputy for communications at the Iranian president’s office, quoted by Al Jazeera, rejected the claim as “political propaganda”. He claimed that unity within the Iranian leadership was “unprecedented and exemplary”.

“Instead of weaving lies, they should cease their breach of promise, bullying, and deceit; the door to negotiations based on fairness, dignity, and rationality remains open,” he wrote on X.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, meanwhile, said that the “breach of commitments, blockade and threats” are the main obstacles to genuine negotiations.

In a social media post on X, President Pezeshkian said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has welcomed dialogue and agreement and continues to do so. “Breach of commitments, blockade and threats are the main obstacles to genuine negotiations. The world sees your endless hypocritical rhetoric and contradiction between claims and actions.”

‘Necessary and logical groundwork’

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei did not give a clear answer on resuming talks with the US. When asked about the possibility of a second round of talks, Baqaei replied, “Diplomacy is a tool to secure national interests and security, and whenever we conclude that the necessary and logical groundwork is in place to use this tool for realising national interests and consolidating the Iranian nation’s achievements in frustrating enemies from achieving their sinister goals, we will take action.”

The foreign ministry’s statement, however, expressed “gratitude for Pakistan’s gracious efforts and mediation attempts to end the imposed war and establish peace in the region”.

According to the spokesperson, Tehran was taking the necessary measures to safeguard Iran’s national interests and security” and that the Iranian forces stood “ready to comprehensively and decisively defend the nation’s integrity against any threat or hostility”.

He emphasised that Iran had not initiated the war and that all of Tehran’s actions “have been carried out in line with its inherent right to legitimate self-defence against military aggression by the United States and the Israeli regime”. “Iran will use every opportunity and capacity to hold aggressors accountable, secure Iran’s rights — including delivering justice for perpetrators and instigators of war crimes — and demand compensation,” according to the statement.

The US president, however, appreciated Iran for complying with one of his requests to terminate the planned execution of eight women detained by the Iranian government in connection with unrest. In a social media post, US President Donald Trump announced that eight women detained by Iran “will no longer be killed” after warning in an earlier social media post that they would be executed.

“Four will be released immediately, and four will be sentenced to one month in prison,” he said on Truth Social, while appreciating Iran for “respecting his request” to terminate the planned execution. The Iranian judiciary had already denied claims that the detained women were on death row.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they seized two container ships trying to cross the Strait of Hormuz. UK-based maritime security monitors confirmed that three commercial vessels had reported incidents involving gunboats in the crucial strait. “The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval force this morning identified and stopped in the Strait of Hormuz two violating ships,” the Guards said in a statement.

“The two offending ships… were seized by the IRGC’s naval forces and directed to the Iranian coast.” They identified one ship as the Panama-flagged container ship MSC Francesca and the Liberia-flagged Epaminodas. The tracking site Marine Traffic showed the last known positions of both vessels closer to the Iranian coast of the strait, northeast of Oman.

Separately, a third ship was fired upon and stopped in the water eight nautical miles west of the Iranian coast, UKMTO said, without identifying the attackers. British Security firm Vanguard Tech identified it as the Panama-flagged container ship Euphoria, which it said was “transiting outbound of the Strait of Hormuz”.