The prospects for a new round of face-to-face peace talks between the United States and Iran remained unclear amid confusion over the US negotiators' plans and uncertainty over whether Tehran would agree to take part.
US President Donald Trump told the New York Post on April 20 that a delegation led by Vice President JD Vance was due to arrive in Pakistan "tonight," but there was no immediate confirmation that Vance had left the United States.
"We're supposed to have the talks…. So I would assume at this point nobody's playing games," the Post quoted Trump as saying in a brief interview it said was held shortly after 9 a.m. Eastern time (3 p.m. CET).
"They're heading over now," Trump was quoted as saying. While he did not specify whether that meant the delegation was already in the air, he said, "They'll be there tonight, [Islamabad] time."
However, sources told RFE/RL on condition of anonymity that the plane Vance normally uses, Air Force Two, remained on the ground at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington a few hours later.
Reuters, citing two unnamed sources, reported that Vance had not yet departed, and several media reports cited sources as saying he would do so soon. The time in Islamabad is nine hours ahead of Washington.
Trump had said a day earlier that US negotiators would travel to Islamabad for talks and would arrive on April 20. But neither Iran nor mediator Pakistan confirmed at that time that talks were planned.
"We have no plans for the next round of negotiation, and no decision has been made in this regard," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei said several hours before Trump spoke to the Post.
Later, Reuters cited an unnamed senior Iranian official as saying Tehran was "positively reviewing" its participation in potential peace talks with the United States but that no final decision had been made.
Pakistan, which hosted and mediated an initial round of face-to-face talks in Islamabad on April 11-12, has been trying to organize another meeting. The first round ended with the United States and Iran blaming each other for the failure to reach an agreement.
The uncertainty over the talks comes as a two-week cease-fire between Iran and the United States is due to expire on April 22. The sides have accused each other of violating the fragile truce.
Even if the talks in Islamabad proceed, public statements indicate Tehran and Washington remain far apart on key issues, including Iran's nuclear program and its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, which the Islamic republic has effectively closed since the US-Israeli bombing campaign began on February 28.
Cease-Fire 'Violations'
During his weekly press briefing, Baqaei said the United States was not serious about pursuing diplomacy, citing what it called "violations" of the truce.
He said a US attack on an Iranian cargo ship early on April 19, the ongoing US naval blockade on Iranian ports, and delays in implementing a truce in Lebanon were all "clear violations of the cease-fire."
Trump said US forces intercepted the Iranian-flagged ship as it tried to pass through a US maritime blockade and have "full custody" of it.
Iran's joint military command claimed the move violated the cease-fire and threatened to retaliate "soon" against the "armed piracy," according to state media.
Tehran has said it will not participate in talks if the US blockade of Iranian ports is in effect, while Trump has said it will not be lifted until a peace deal is signed.
Trump repeated that on April 20, writing that "we will not take [the blockade] off...until there is a 'DEAL.'" He also wrote that "things are going very well" in the war and that he is "under no pressure whatsoever" to reach a deal with Iran but that "it will all happen, relatively quickly!”
Iran also reiterated its criticism of the blockade. In a phone call with his Pakistani counterpart, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran "considered the provocative actions and continuous violations of the cease-fire by the United States, especially threats and aggression against Iranian commercial ships, and contradictory positions and threatening rhetoric against Iran, as a fundamental obstacle to the continuation of the diplomatic process," the Iranian Ministry said on X.
Araqchi said "Iran will take a decision on how to continue the path [after] considering all aspects of the matter," suggesting Tehran was mulling whether to take part in a new face-to-face talks.
Separately, Araqchi told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that what he called the "illegal behavior and contradictory positions" of the US were incompatible with diplomacy, Iranian state media reported.
Earlier in the week, there were hopes that the Strait of Hormuz, which usually accounts for around one-fifth of global oil trade, would open after more than a month of being closed as Tehran announced it was open to commercial shipping traffic.
However, Iranian forces fired upon at least three civilian ships, two of which reportedly were Indian and one French-flagged vessel, and announced the reclosing of the strait.
Lebanon Front
Iran also said delays in implementing a cease-fire in Lebanon, where Israel is waging war against Hezbollah, an ally of Tehran, was also a violation of the truce.
Hezbollah is a militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon. It is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, while the European Union has only blacklisted its armed wing.
Israel and Lebanon agreed a separate 10-day cease-fire that went into effect on April 17. The truce included Hezbollah, which entered the war to defend Iran and has fired rockets at Israel.
The cease-fire ended weeks of heavy fighting between Hezbollah and Israel, which invaded southern Lebanon. It was agreed after the United States hosted talks between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to Washington on April 14, the first direct talks between the neighboring countries in decades.
A senior US official told RFE/RL on condition of anonymity that the second round of ambassador-level talks between Israel and Lebanon will take place at the State Department on April 23.
Both sides have both accused each other of violating the truce, and Israeli forces continue to occupy much of the south with the aim of maintaining a buffer zone to shield northern Israel from Hezbollah attacks. Hezbollah has said it maintains the "right to resist" Israeli occupation.
Israel's military on April 20 warned Lebanese civilians against returning to southern Lebanon. But that has not stopped thousands of people displaced in the war from making their way back to their homes.
