The war: the vice president of the United States suspended his trip to Pakistan and Iran did not confirm his presence either

Pakistani leaders, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, worked hard late Tuesday to get both sides to agree to a second round of talks, according to two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The ceasefire was scheduled to expire on Wednesday.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told Iranian state television that there was “no final decision” on whether to attend due to “unacceptable actions” by the United States, apparently in reference to its recent blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.

As Vance paused his trip, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were due to be in Washington on Tuesday afternoon for consultations on how to proceed, said an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations.

The official warned that Trump could change his mind about negotiating with Iran at any time, and declined to predict what would happen if the ceasefire expires without another meeting in Islamabad, but insisted that Trump has options other than resuming bombing.

Trump says he does not want to extend the ceasefire Both sides remain entrenched in their positions. President Donald Trump warned that “a lot of bombs” “will start exploding” if there is no deal by the deadline, and Iran’s top negotiator said Tehran has “new cards on the battlefield” that have not yet been revealed.

The truce, which began on April 8, could be extended if talks resume, although Trump said in an interview Tuesday with CNBC: “Well, I don’t want to do that.”

“We don’t have that much time,” Trump noted, adding that Iran “had a choice” and “they have to negotiate.”

White House officials have said Vance would lead the US delegation, but Iran has not said who it might send. Iranian state television broadcast a message on Tuesday saying that “no delegation from Iran has visited Islamabad…until now.”

US says its forces boarded sanctioned tanker On Tuesday, the United States said its forces boarded a tanker previously sanctioned for smuggling Iranian crude oil in Asia. The Pentagon said on social media that U.S. forces boarded the M/T Tifani “without incident.”

The US military did not reveal where the ship was boardedalthough tracking data on Tuesday placed the Tifani in the Indian Ocean, between Sri Lanka and Indonesia. The Pentagon statement added that “international waters are not a refuge for sanctioned ships.”

The US military seized an Iranian container ship on Sunday, the first interception under a blockade of Iranian ports. Iran’s joint military command called the armed boarding an act of piracy and a violation of the ceasefire.

Hormuz will be a key issue in the negotiations The United States has imposed a blockade of Iranian ports to pressure Tehran to end its tight control over the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime route through which 20% of the world’s natural gas and crude oil transit in peacetime.

Iran’s tight control over the strait has sent oil prices soaring, with Brent, the international standard, trading near $95 a barrel on Tuesday, more than 30% higher than February 28, the day Israel and the United States attacked Iran to start the war.

Before the war began, the Strait of Hormuz was completely open to international shipping, and Trump has demanded that ships once again be able to transit the waterway without impediments.

European Union transport ministers met in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss how to protect consumers after the head of the International Energy Agency warned that Europe has “perhaps six weeks” of jet fuel supplies left.

During the weekend, IIran stated that he had received new proposals from Washingtonbut also suggested that there remains a wide gap between the parties. Issues that derailed the latest round of negotiations included Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, its regional allies and the Strait.

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf on Tuesday accused the United States of wanting Iran to surrender. “We do not accept negotiations in the shadow of threats,” wrote Qalibaf in X.

Pakistan confident talks will go ahead Pakistani officials have expressed confidence that Iran will also send a delegation to resume talks that mark the highest-level negotiations between the United States and Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The first round, on April 11 and 12, ended without an agreement.

Pakistan said Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met the acting US ambassador in Islamabad on Tuesday to urge an extension of the ceasefire. Dar also met with the ambassador of China, which is a key trading partner of Iran.

Security has been beefed up across Pakistan’s capital, where authorities have deployed thousands of troops and increased patrols along routes leading to the airport.