US seizes Iranian ship as Trump pushes for peace

The US Navy’s forcible seizure of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship has thrown doubt on President Donald Trump’s announcement that US 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 US 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 US service members have also been killed.

 In the lead-up and throughout the seven-week war, Trump has faced criticism from the left and from some of his own supporters that he followed Israel’s lead into launching the conflict.

But Trump on social media is blaming the media for pushing what he claims is a false narrative.

“Israel never talked me into the war with Iran, the results of Oct. 7th, added to my lifelong opinion that IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,” Trump posted.

The New York Post quoted Trump in an interview claiming that Vice President JD Vance is headed to Pakistan for negotiations on the Iran War, along with special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who is Trump’s son-in-law.

“They’re heading over now,” Trump said. “They’ll be there tonight.”

But it’s not quite clear if Trump was speaking more broadly or if the claims about Vance are accurate. Administration officials have in response to questions, declined to confirm if Vance is, in fact, mid-air on the way to Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.