Negotiations between Iran and the US in Pakistan were thrown into doubt on Friday after Tehran insisted talks would not proceed unless Washington upheld a ceasefire commitment over Lebanon.
At the same time, US President Donald Trump issued pointed warnings about the future of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway blocked by Iran.
Doubt hangs over the talks, expected to begin on Saturday in Islamabad, after claims in Iran that its delegation had not yet travelled to Pakistan. A deadline looms over both sides as the temporary ceasefire, agreed to after 40 days of war, is due to expire in less than two weeks.
"Claims by some media outlets that an Iranian negotiating delegation has arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan, to hold talks with US officials are completely false," a source told Iran's Fars news agency. "Negotiations remain suspended until the US upholds its commitments regarding the ceasefire in Lebanon and the Israeli regime stops its attacks."
Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who was expected to lead Tehran's delegation, had already cast doubt on the talks. "In such a situation, a bilateral ceasefire or negotiations is unreasonable," he said, while accusing the US of breaching a 10-point peace framework that led to a pause in strikes.
But Iran's ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, sought to steady nerves on Thursday, saying that, despite public scepticism, a delegation would arrive for "serious talks".
Iran has maintained that Lebanon is included in the terms of the ceasefire. Both Washington and Israel have denied that. The need to resolve the dispute gained a bloody urgency when Israel launched more than 100 strikes across Lebanon in 10 minutes on Wednesday, killing more than 300 people in what Lebanese officials described as a "massacre". The attacks were launched hours after the ceasefire announcement raised hopes of a regional pause. Hezbollah vowed those killed "would not be wasted".
The EU has added to calls for Lebanon to be included in the truce. The bloc's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas described the ceasefire as "fragile" and told The National that continued Israeli strikes were "totally unnecessary". EU commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Suica, went further, telling The National that, if Lebanon could not be included in the truce, a "separate arrangement" must be found.
Adding to the pressure, Mr Trump used his Truth Social platform on Friday to issue a series of warnings to Tehran over the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil normally flows. Iran has effectively blocked the waterway since the war began.
"Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonourable some would say, of allowing oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz. That is not the agreement we have," Mr Trump wrote. He added that oil would soon begin moving through the waterway "with or without" Iran's co-operation.
Mr Trump also warned Iran against imposing tolls on tankers transiting the strait while negotiations were help, saying any such measures "better stop now". His comments came days after he floated the idea of a "joint venture" in the waterway.
The fate of the strait sits at the heart of Washington's 15-point negotiating framework, a document that also covers Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium, its ballistic missile programme and the question of sanctions relief.
The American delegation is led by Vice President JD Vance, who is accompanied by senior envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. Iran's side is expected to include Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Talks are set to take place at the Serena Hotel, which Pakistani authorities requisitioned for an "important event".
