THE United States attacked and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship it said had tried to evade a naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, and Iran’s joint military command vowed to respond, throwing a fragile ceasefire into question days before it expires. It was the first interception since the US blockade of Iranian ports began last week. Iran’s joint military command called the armed boarding an act of piracy and a ceasefire violation, the state broadcaster said. With the US-Iran standoff over the strait sharpening and the ceasefire expiring by Wednesday, it was not clear where President Donald Trump’s earlier announcement that US negotiators would head to Pakistan on Monday for new talks with Iran now stood. He had said US negotiators would head to Pakistan on Monday. The uncertainty sent oil prices rising again. One of the worst global energy crises in decades threatened to deepen. Trump on social media said a US Navy guided missile destroyer in the Gulf of Oman warned the Iranian-flagged ship, the Touska, to stop and then “stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room.” US Marines had custody of the US-sanctioned vessel and were “seeing what’s on board!” It was not clear whether anyone was hurt. The US Central Command, which did not answer questions, said the destroyer had issued “repeated warnings over a six-hour period.” Iranian state media suggest the talks won’t take place: There was no comment from Iranian officials directly addressing Trump’s announcement of talks. However, Iranian state media, without citing anyone beyond unnamed sources, issued brief reports suggesting that they would not happen.

 

Minutes after the ship seizure was announced, Iranian state media reported on President Masoud Pezeshkian’s phone conversation with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier Sunday. US actions including bullying and unreasonable behaviour have led to increased suspicion that the US will repeat previous patterns and “betray diplomacy,” the reports cited Pezeshkian as saying. Iran’s state broadcaster said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Pakistani counterpart on another call that recent US actions, rhetoric and contradictions were signs of “bad intentions and lack of seriousness in diplomacy.” Pakistan did not confirm a second round of talks, but authorities had begun tightening security in Islamabad. A regional official involved in the efforts said mediators were finalising preparations and US advance security teams were on the ground. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss preparations with the media. The White House had said Vice President J D Vance, who led the1st round of face-to-face talks over 21 hours last weekend, would lead the US delegation to Pakistan with envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Iran wants to control strait until war fully ends: Ships remained unable to transit the critical waterway amid threats and attacks by Iran and the US blockade of ships heading to and from Iranian ports. Hundreds of vessels were waiting at each end for clearance. Over 3,300 people have died in Iran during war: Iran offered a new death toll for the war with Israel and the United States, with its forensic chief saying at least 3,375 people had been killed in the conflict. The figure came from Abbas Masjedi, the head of Iran’s Legal Medicine Organisation. Masjedi, quoted by the judiciary’s Mizan news agency and other outlets Monday, said only four of the dead remain unidentified.

 

His comments did not break down casualties among civilians and security forces, instead just saying that 2,875 were male and 496 were female. Masjedi said 383 of the dead were children 18 years old and under. Masjedi’s figures raised questions about whether or not they included security force members, particularly given the levels of intense bombings targeting military bases and arsenals in the country. Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil trade normally passes through the strait, along with critical supplies of fertiliser for the world’s farmers, natural gas and humanitarian supplies for places in dire need like Afghanistan and Sudan.