Uncertainty surrounds efforts to renew talks to end the Middle East war after Washington announced that vice-president JD Vance, along with envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, would be arriving in Pakistan on Monday for a second round of negotiations. Iran, however, responded that there was currently no decision to send a delegation to Pakistan “as long as there is a US naval blockade”.
Iran’s state media reported later on Sunday that Iranian officials would not take part in the talks due to “Washington’s excessive demands” and “unrealistic expectations”.
Pakistan is leading mediation efforts to end the conflict, which has triggered the most serious global energy crisis since the 1970s, but the initial round of talks ended without agreement.
With the two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran set to expire on Tuesday night, Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social: “We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran”. The US president warned there would be “NO MORE MR NICE GUY” if the talks failed.
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He told ABC that Iran committed a “serious violation” of the ceasefire by reclosing the strategic Strait of Hormuz waterway – a move Tehran said was in response to the US naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran’s parliament speaker and chief negotiator, Muhammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said there had been progress in talks with the United States, but that a wide gap still remained. He stressed that Tehran does not trust the US and warned that the fighting could resume at any time.
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu also said on Sunday the Iran war was not over, warning “any moment could bring us new developments”.
One of the main sticking points remains the nuclear issue, after Tehran denied a claim by Trump that it had agreed to remove the 440kg of enriched uranium from the country as part of a deal to end the war.
Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday that Trump had no justification to deprive Iran of its nuclear rights. “Trump says Iran cannot make use of its nuclear rights but doesn’t say for what crime. Who is he to deprive a nation of its rights?”
Iran said it turned back an additional two oil tankers from passing through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday after several vessels reported being hit by projectiles on Saturday and one tanker reported being fired upon by Iranian gunboats.
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A separate 10-day ceasefire announced by Trump for Lebanon continues to hold, although isolated violations were reported by Israel and Hizbullah.
As tens of thousands of Lebanese displaced by the war returned to the south, the Lebanese army said it was working to reopen roads and bridges bombed by Israel, after air strikes destroyed key crossings during fighting.
Israeli forces continued destroying buildings in Shia villages in the new security zone established by Israel in the area 8-10km north of the border in an effort to prevent residents returning. Defence minister Israel Katz stated last month that “all houses in villages near the Lebanese border will be demolished”, similar to the Gaza model.
Many Israelis in northern border communities oppose the ceasefire because Hizbullah has not been disarmed, arguing that a resumption of rocket attacks is merely a matter of time. The city of Kiryat Shmona, close to the Lebanese border, observed a general strike on Sunday to protest the ceasefire and the government’s failure to bring lasting security to the residents of the Galilee. A demonstration was also held outside the US embassy in Jerusalem, with protesters holding signs that read: Hizbullah Thanks Trump.
