Live updates: Follow the latest news on Iran war
Iran kept the US waiting for a second round of peace talks scheduled for Monday night, as the clock ticked down to the end of President Donald Trump's ceasefire.
Mediators from Pakistan said preparations were complete for a second meeting in Islamabad, after separate meetings with Iranian and American diplomats.
Earlier in the day, Mr Trump indicated a US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance was heading to Pakistan to resume talks. But by nightfall there was no sign of the Iranians, who accused the US of unreasonable demands.
“Unconstructive and contradictory signals from American officials carry a bitter message; they seek Iran's surrender. Iranians do not submit to force,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said.
Iran's Tasnim news agency said a US naval blockade was a key obstacle to the talks. It said the Iranian delegation saw negotiations as “simply a waste of time” until the US took a more realistic approach.
It earlier said drone warfare had resumed, as Iran carried out retaliatory strikes on US military vessels in the Gulf of Oman, after American naval forces seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship there.
There have been no reports of any damage. Iran also accused the US of breaching a ceasefire that expires on Wednesday through what it called “armed piracy”.
The US military has ordered 27 vessels to turn around or return to an Iranian port since the start of its blockade, US Central Command said. The blockade and slow-going talks have prompted warnings of a return to all-out conflict if no deal is reached.
The war began on February 28, with US and Israeli strikes on Iran. Thousands of people have been killed and the conflict has spread across the region, including to Lebanon.
Iran’s forensic authority issued a new death toll on Monday, saying at least 3,375 people, including hundreds of children, were killed in 40 days of conflict with the US and Israel before the truce took hold. Abbas Masjedi, head of the Iranian Legal Medicine Organisation, said hundreds of victims were gradually being identified.
The conflict has severely disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global oil supplies, amid Iranian threats against commercial vessels and an increased US naval presence. The escalation has caused a sharp oil price shock, sending global energy markets surging.
Concerns are growing that a two-week ceasefire due to expire on Wednesday will not be extended after Iran said on Monday it has no plans to attend a new round of talks with the US in Islamabad.
On Sunday, Mr Trump said the US Navy disabled and seized the Iranian-flagged Touska container ship. The US Central Command also released a video purportedly showing the vessel being seized.
The vessel tried to get through the US naval blockade, but it “did not go well for them”, Mr Trump added.
The US President announced on Sunday that his representatives “are going to Islamabad, Pakistan – they will be there tomorrow evening, for negotiations”. He repeated threats to destroy Iranian power plants and bridges if Tehran does not accept a deal.
But Iranian state media has cast doubt on the talks, saying there were “no clear prospects” of further negotiations. The Islamic Republic News Agency said reports about a second round of talks in Islamabad were a US tactic to put pressure on Iran. The first round of negotiations, held on April 11 and 12, failed to secure an agreement.
Iran confirmed its position on Monday. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told a media conference in Tehran that the country had “no plans” to go to Islamabad because the US had shown it was “not serious” about diplomacy.
“This clear contradiction between words and behaviour exacerbates the Iranian nation's suspicion of US intentions,” he said. “Therefore, Iran will make the appropriate decision regarding the continuation of the negotiations by prioritising national interests and benefits.”
