By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Iran rejects talks under threat as ceasefire nears expiry, citing US violations, blockade, and contradictory signals from Washington.

Key Developments

• Iran says no delegation has traveled to Islamabad, and no new round is confirmed.
• Tehran says US threats, blockade, and vessel seizure undermine diplomacy.
• Qalibaf says Iran will not accept negotiations under threat.

Tehran Rejects Reports of Delegation to Islamabad

Iranian state television on Tuesday denied reports that an Iranian delegation had traveled to Islamabad for a new round of talks with the United States, dismissing claims of an imminent meeting as inaccurate.

“No Iranian delegation, whether primary, preliminary, or secondary, has traveled to Islamabad so far,” Iranian state TV said, according to Al Mayadeen, rejecting reports that meetings were scheduled for Monday evening or Tuesday morning.

The denial came as speculation intensified over a possible second round of Pakistani-mediated negotiations, with the ceasefire due to expire on Wednesday evening US time.

Iranian officials have made clear that no decision has yet been taken on whether to join a new round of talks.

Speaking at his weekly press conference, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said, “So far, we have not made any decisions regarding the next round of negotiations,” according to Tasnim.

He said Tehran’s next step would be determined by national interest, while stressing that Washington’s actions have contradicted its own claims of seeking diplomacy.

Baghaei said that from the very beginning of the ceasefire, Iran had faced “bad faith and constant complaints” from the United States. He pointed in particular to Washington’s earlier insistence that Lebanon was not part of the ceasefire, despite Pakistan having explicitly said otherwise.

He also cited the maritime escalation in the Strait of Hormuz, including the US attack on an Iranian commercial vessel, describing it as both “an act of aggression” and a ceasefire violation.

“Iran will make the necessary decisions about the future path with careful consideration of its national interests,” he said.

Tehran: No Diplomacy under Coercion

Iranian officials and political figures used unusually direct language on Tuesday to reject any suggestion that Tehran would negotiate under pressure.

Mehdi Tabatabai, the Iranian presidential aide for public relations, wrote on X that “the Iranian people have chosen peace and stability, but the enemies expect them to surrender”.

He added, “We have not initiated aggression, nor will we, but we have defended ourselves and will continue to do so with full force. We will make the aggressor regret its actions until the roots of aggression are eliminated,” while warning Washington against repeating the same miscalculations in assessing Iran.

انتخاب ملت ایران صلح و آرامش بوده، انتظار دشمنان بی‌عملی و تسلیم است.
ما تجاوز نکرده‌ایم و نخواهیم کرد، اما دفاع جانانه کرده‌ایم و خواهیم کرد.
هم متجاوز را پشیمان می‌کنیم و هم ریشه هوس تکرار گستاخی را خواهیم خشکاند.
آزموده را آزمودن خطاست…

— سيد مهدي طباطبايي (@tabaei1356) April 21, 2026

Iran’s Ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghaddam, took the same line, saying that “a nation with a great civilization does not negotiate under threat or force,” a position he described as both universal and rooted in principle.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is expected to head any Iranian delegation if talks do resume, also ruled out negotiations under pressure. In a message cited by Tasnim, he said, “We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threat, and over the past two weeks we have been preparing to unveil new cards on the battlefield.”

He accused Trump of trying to turn diplomacy into capitulation, saying the US president “seeks to, in his own imagination, turn the negotiating table into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering.”

Vessel Seizure, Blockade, and Hormuz Standoff Deepen Mistrust

A major reason for the worsening atmosphere is the confrontation at sea.

According to Al Mayadeen and Tasnim, Iranian officials view the US seizure of the Iranian cargo vessel Touska, the continued naval blockade on Iranian ports, and threats against Iranian commercial ships as proof that Washington is escalating even while speaking the language of negotiation.

Baghaei said the seizure of the vessel, the blockade, and the delayed implementation of the Lebanon truce were all “clear violations of the ceasefire.”

Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, in a telephone call with Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, reported by Tasnim, said “provocative actions and the continued violations of the ceasefire by the United States—particularly threats against and interference with Iranian commercial vessels—as well as contradictory positions and threatening rhetoric against Iran” are a major obstacle to continuing diplomacy.

He added that Tehran would decide how to proceed only after weighing all dimensions of the situation.

At the same time, the Strait of Hormuz remains one of the main unresolved disputes. Iranian officials have insisted that lifting the US blockade on Iranian ports is a precondition for meaningful talks, while warning that maritime passage cannot be detached from the broader confrontation.

‘Deception Scenario’- Russia warns Iran as US Delegation Arrives in Islamabad

Washington Pushes Forward

On the American side, US officials continue to indicate that Washington wants a second round of talks to proceed in Islamabad, but the messaging remains uneven.

According to Al-Jazeera, Trump still intends to send a delegation led by Vice President J.D. Vance, with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner also expected to be involved. Axios, cited by Al Jazeera, reported that Vance is expected in Pakistan on Tuesday.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that the US is closer than ever to “a really good deal,” while saying Trump still has “several options” if negotiations fail.

Trump himself, however, has paired talk of diplomacy with threats. He told Bloomberg that extending the two-week ceasefire was “highly unlikely” if no agreement is reached, and he told CBS News that if Iran does not respond to US demands, “lots of bombs (will) start going off.”

He has also insisted that the naval blockade on Iranian ports will continue until a final agreement is reached.

In addition, Trump has continued publicly asserting that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile will eventually be handed over to the United States, despite repeated Iranian denials that any such understanding exists.

Iran Rejects ‘Alternative Facts’ on Nuclear File

Tehran has also used the latest round of media speculation to push back against what it sees as inflated or invented US claims about progress.

Iranian sources cited by Al Mayadeen, Tasnim, Fars and IRNA have all said the atmosphere is not positive and that Washington’s “maximalist” demands remain a central obstacle.

The most sensitive dispute remains the nuclear file. Iranian officials have denied Trump’s claims that Tehran agreed to transfer 440 kilograms of enriched uranium to the United States or to halt enrichment on Iranian soil.

Iranian officials reportedly said the stockpile “will not be moved anywhere” and that the issue “was never raised in the negotiations.”

That denial goes to the heart of why Tehran says the current US approach makes a second round difficult: from the Iranian perspective, Washington is not merely negotiating hard, but also publicly reshaping the terms of talks in ways that undermine trust.

No Breakthrough in Sight

Pakistan continues to try to salvage the process.

According to Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in Islamabad, Pakistani authorities have intensified contacts with both Tehran and Washington and remain determined to ensure that, if talks do resume, they are not merely symbolic but capable of producing a real understanding.

The correspondent said Pakistani officials are focused on making any second round constructive rather than performative, but admitted there are no concrete signs yet that talks will resume in the coming hours.

The Associated Press, cited by Al Mayadeen, reported that Pakistan has increased diplomatic efforts since Sunday in hopes of getting negotiations back on track by Tuesday.

At the same time, Pakistani authorities have clearly prepared for the possibility that talks may still happen. According to Al-Jazeera, Islamabad is under tight security, major hotels are heavily guarded, and the Pakistani government is maintaining secrecy around any possible meeting.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar also called on Iran to resume dialogue as soon as possible in order to support peace and stability in the region.

Still, as of Tuesday, Iranian media and officials were unanimous on one point: no delegation had gone to Islamabad, and no new round had been approved.

LIVE BLOG: US Delegation Arrives in Islamabad as Iran Has Not Yet Confirmed Participation – Day 52

Ceasefire Nears Expiry

All of this is unfolding with the ceasefire just days from expiry.

The truce, brokered by Pakistan on April 8, followed 40 days of war that began on February 28. But rather than producing a stable diplomatic track, it has been marked by disputes over Lebanon, the blockade, the seizure of ships, threats of renewed bombing, and conflicting public narratives from Washington and Tehran.

Iranian television said Tuesday that the armed forces remain ready for a “decisive response” to what it called American breaches of promise, while political leaders made clear that diplomacy cannot move forward under conditions they view as coercive.

The immediate result is that the second round of talks remains in doubt. The broader implication is that, unless Washington changes course in a visible way, Tehran appears increasingly inclined to treat the ceasefire not as a bridge to agreement, but as a short pause before renewed confrontation.

(PC, Al Mayadeen, Tasnim, Al-Jazeera)