WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the US military had seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to run its blockade, while Iran said it would not participate in a second round of peace talks despite Trump’s threat of renewed airstrikes.
The developments indicated that peace may not come soon to the region, and a weeks-long blockade of marine traffic that has driven global oil prices higher likewise might remain in place.
The US has maintained a blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran has lifted and then reimposed its own blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which before the war began almost two months ago handled roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.
Trump said on Sunday that the US military took control of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that had tried to get past the blockade. “We have full custody of their ship, and are seeing what’s on board!” he wrote on social media, adding that US forces blew a hole in the vessel’s engine room.
Iran’s official IRNA state news agency, meanwhile, reported that Tehran had rejected new peace talks, citing the ongoing blockade and Washington’s shifting positions and “excessive demands.”
