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Iran has announced it will not take part in the upcoming discussions with the United States, as reported by state media. This announcement follows US President Donald Trump giving instructions for American negotiators to travel to Pakistan shortly before the ceasefire in the Middle East is set to end on April 22. "The information about a second round of talks in Islamabad is not true," stated Iran's state-funded news outlet, Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). IRNA pointed out that the US's "unreasonable demands, unrealistic expectations, constant changes in their stance, contradictory statements, and the so-called naval blockade, which breaks the ceasefire agreement, along with threatening language, have all made progress in the talks difficult. " The information about a second round of talks in Islamabad is not true. "Considering these circumstances, the chances for productive discussions look very poor," it noted. Tehran also accused Washington of engaging in a "blame game" and misrepresenting Iran's involvement in a second round of discussions to pressure the nation.
Reza Amiri Moghadam, Iran's Ambassador to Pakistan, criticized the US for breaching international law after an Iranian ship was attacked. "You cannot keep breaking international law, reinforce your blockade, threaten Iran with more war crimes, insist on unreasonable requests, and act like you are pursuing 'Diplomacy'. As long as the naval blockade is in place, tensions will continue," he expressed in a message on X. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian mentioned that "diplomacy is essential to decrease tensions," according to an IRNA report. "No one benefits from war. All logical and diplomatic methods should be employed to ease tensions," he added. However, a spokesperson from the Iranian foreign ministry informed the agency that Tehran does not plan to engage in another round of talks with the US for now. They mentioned that the US has violated the ceasefire since it began, and Tehran has communicated this to the Pakistani mediator.
It broke the ceasefire agreement by putting a blockade at sea against us. We cannot overlook the attacks from the US during previous discussions. We will keep protecting what is ours as a nation. If the US and Israel wish to launch new attacks, our military will react appropriately, they noted. The spokesperson mentioned that the US is not absorbing its past mistakes, and this will never bring about positive outcomes. The ongoing blockade of Iranian harbors by the US has been a major issue, made worse when an American destroyer shot at and captured an Iranian vessel that tried to escape. Tehran has issued a warning that it will take action in response. The Fars and Tasnim news services previously reported unnamed sources saying "the overall mood is not very encouraging," adding that removing the US blockade is necessary for talks. Iran and the US, along with Israel, are just two days away from the end of the two-week ceasefire that paused the Middle East conflict, which began after a sudden US-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28.
Trump has also claimed that Iran broke the ceasefire, stating he still believes he can achieve a peace agreement, as reported by ABC News. "We are proposing a very fair and sensible DEAL, and I hope they accept it," said the US president, while also renewing threats against Iran's infrastructure if an agreement isn’t reached. He also previously mentioned in a post on Truth Social that US representatives would arrive in Islamabad, Pakistan, "tomorrow night" for discussions with Iran, with a White House official later confirming to The Jerusalem Post that US Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner would lead the team going to Pakistan. On Sunday afternoon, Trump told Axios that he felt hopeful about the negotiations with Tehran in Islamabad. "I feel good about it. The outline of the deal is complete. I believe we have a strong chance to finalize it," he stated.
