Iran has dismissed reports of a second round of negotiations with the United States in Islamabad, saying the current environment does not support meaningful dialogue and accusing Washington of complicating the process.
State news agency IRNA said, "The reports circulating about a second round of negotiations in Islamabad are false," while pointing to what it described as a pressure-driven approach from the US side.
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Tehran flags 'unreasonable demands'
Iranian officials have cited multiple factors behind the stalled talks. According to IRNA, "US excessive demands, unreasonable and unrealistic expectations, frequent shifts in positions, continuous contradictions, and the so-called naval blockade, which violates the ceasefire understanding along with threatening rhetoric, have so far hindered progress in the negotiations."
It added that "under these conditions, the outlook for constructive talks remains bleak", while calling reports in US media a "propaganda campaign" and part of a "blame game".
State broadcaster IRIB echoed the stance, reporting that "there are currently no plans to participate in the next round of Iran-US talks". Other agencies, including Fars and Tasnim, said the atmosphere for negotiations "cannot be assessed as very positive".
Blockade and ship seizure raise tensions
The diplomatic impasse comes amid rising tensions over a US naval blockade of Iranian ports. The situation escalated after a US destroyer fired on and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel that allegedly tried to evade the blockade.
US President Donald Trump said the ship was stopped after the destroyer acted "by blowing a hole in the engineroom", adding, "Right now, US Marines have custody of the vessel". He also stated the vessel was under US Treasury sanctions "because of prior history of illegal activity".
Iran condemned the move strongly. A spokesperson for its central command centre said the armed forces "will soon respond and retaliate against this armed piracy and the US military". Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei described the blockade as "a violation" of the ceasefire and "illegal collective punishment of the Iranian people".
No timeline for next round
Only one round of talks has taken place so far, a 21-hour meeting in Islamabad on April 11, which ended without agreement.
Iran's deputy Foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said no date has been set for further discussions. "We are now focusing on finalising the framework of understanding between two sides. We don't want to enter into any negotiation or meeting which is doomed to fail and which can be a pretext for another round of escalation," he said.
He added, "I have to be very crystal clear that Iran would not accept being an exception from international law. Anything that we are going to be committed to will be within the international regulations and international law."
A key sticking point remains Iran's enriched uranium stockpile. Trump claimed Tehran had agreed to hand over around 440 kilograms, saying, "We're offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it." Iran, however, has maintained that the material "is not going to be transferred anywhere" and that such a proposal "has never been raised in negotiations".
