US and Iran May Resume Talks This Week Despite Port Blockade

Fresh hopes for diplomacy emerged on Monday as the United States and Iran appeared poised to return to Islamabad for another round of talks aimed at ending the war, sources told Reuters, even after weekend negotiations collapsed and Washington responded by imposing a blockade on Iranian ports.

Tehran denounced the US move in fierce terms, but the prospect that back-channel efforts were still alive helped steady oil markets, sending benchmark crude back below $100 a barrel.

The weekend meeting in Pakistan’s capital — the highest-level contact between Washington and Tehran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution — ended without a deal, casting fresh uncertainty over a two-week ceasefire that has one week remaining.

Still, one source involved in the discussions said both sides could be back in Islamabad by the end of this week, adding that a proposal had already been circulated to Washington and Tehran calling for their delegations to return.

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Iran had reached out and wanted an agreement, while making clear he would not back any deal that left Tehran with a nuclear weapon.

Since the United States and Israel launched the war on 28 February, Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz to almost all ships other than its own, saying vessels could pass only under Iranian control and after paying a fee. Before that, nearly one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies moved through the chokepoint, amplifying the global impact.

In response, the US military said it began blocking maritime traffic to and from Iranian ports on Monday. Tehran has warned it could target naval vessels transiting the strait and strike at the ports of its Gulf neighbours in retaliation.

One day after the blockade began, there were still no reports that Washington had taken direct steps against commercial shipping to enforce it.

Shipping data, however, showed at least three Iran-linked tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz without travelling to or from Iranian ports.

IMF cuts growth outlook

The latest escalation has deepened concerns over global energy security and the flow of goods tied to petroleum supplies.

The International Monetary Fund has lowered its growth forecast, pointing to war-driven price surges and supply disruptions, and warned that the global economy could hover near recession if the conflict intensifies and oil remains above $100 a barrel through 2027.

The International Energy Agency also sharply reduced its projections for global oil supply and demand growth, saying both are now expected to decline from 2025 levels.

Washington’s NATO allies, including Britain and France, said they would not join the blockade, though they have offered support for securing the strait through a defensive multilateral mission once an agreement is reached.

China, the biggest purchaser of Iranian oil, called the US blockade “dangerous and irresponsible” and said it would only deepen tensions.

Watch: Vance says ‘ball is in the Iranian court’ regarding a deal

Nuclear demands remain firm

US Vice President JD Vance, who headed the American delegation in talks with Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said on Monday that Tehran’s representatives had shifted somewhat, but not enough.

He said President Trump remained unwavering that all enriched nuclear material must leave Iran and that a verification system must be put in place to ensure Tehran is not pursuing nuclear weapons.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar reinforced that message in Jerusalem, telling reporters: “We will never allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons,” he said. “The enriched materials must be removed from Iran.”

Pakistan’s attempt to broker an end to the war has been further complicated by Israel’s continued strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel and the United States say those operations fall outside the ceasefire, while Iran says they do not.

Israeli and Lebanese envoys are due to meet in Washington in a rare face-to-face session that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also expected to attend. Lebanon’s government has pushed for talks with Israel despite resistance from Hezbollah.

Israel killed more than 350 people in Lebanon in the heaviest strikes of the war just hours after the Iran ceasefire was announced last week, but later said it was open to discussing a separate truce with the Lebanese government.

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Ceasefire still holding

Facing domestic opposition to the war and growing political pressure from higher energy prices, President Trump halted the US-Israeli bombing campaign last week after warning he would destroy Iran’s “whole civilisation” unless it reopened the strait.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted from 10-12 April, after the ceasefire announcement, found that 35% of Americans support US strikes on Iran, down from 37% a week earlier.

Despite the heated language exchanged by both sides, the ceasefire has broadly held through its first week.

Vessels head towards the Strait of Hormuz last week following the two week temporary ceasefire

An Iranian military spokesperson described any US curbs on international shipping as “piracy,” and warned that if Iranian ports came under threat, then no port in the Gulf or Gulf of Oman would remain safe.

Mr Trump said Iran’s navy had been “completely obliterated” during the war and claimed only a small number of “fast-attack ships” were left.

“Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED,” Mr Trump wrote on social media.

The US military’s Central Command said the blockade would apply to vessels entering or departing Iranian ports in the Gulf and Gulf of Oman. In a notice to mariners, it said neutral ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz to or from non-Iranian destinations would not be obstructed.