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The U.S. Navy’s forcible seizure of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship has thrown doubt on President Donald Trump ‘s announcement that U.S. negotiators would travel to Pakistan on Monday for another round of talks with Iran.
Trump’s announcement Sunday had raised hopes of extending a fragile ceasefire set to expire by Wednesday, but then U.S. Marines boarded the cargo ship that tried to circumvent a naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s joint military command said Tehran would respond soon to what it called an act of piracy, and Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei on Monday said Tehran did not have plans yet to attend any talks with the United States.
The escalating standoff threatened to deepen the energy crisis roiling the global economy and push the two countries toward renewed fighting that has killed at least 3,375 people in Iran, nearly 2,300 in Lebanon, 23 civilians and 15 soldiers in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen U.S. service members have also been killed.
