As the clock ticks down to the end of a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran, all eyes are on whether they can return to the negotiating table in Pakistan, while the stand-off in the Strait of Hormuz continues.
These are the main takeaways from what happened overnight.
What did Trump say?
US President Donald Trump defended his war against Iran in a series of social media posts. He said he would not lift the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz “until there is a ‘DEAL’”.
“I read the Fake News saying that I am under “pressure” to make a Deal. THIS IS NOT TRUE! I am under no pressure whatsoever, although, it will all happen, relatively quickly! Time is not my adversary.”
He also argued that “the DEAL that we are making with Iran will be FAR BETTER than the JCPOA”, referring to the Iran nuclear agreement signed during the Barack Obama administration in 2015.
He told Bloomberg News that he was “highly unlikely” to renew the two-week ceasefire, which expires at 8pm on Tuesday, US Eastern Time (8am on Wednesday in Hong Kong).
In another interview – with The John Fredericks Show, a conservative radio programme – Trump said Iran was “going to negotiate” and that Tehran would not have a nuclear weapon under the deal.
“Well, they’re going to negotiate, and if they don’t, they’re going to see problems like they’ve never seen before,” he said.
“Hopefully they’ll make a fair deal, and they’ll build their country back up.”
Will Iran turn up?
Tehran has not said it will hold a second round of talks with Washington.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the parliamentary speaker who led the Iranian delegation during the first round of negotiations, said on social media: “We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and in the past two weeks, we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield.
“Trump, by imposing a siege and violating the ceasefire, seeks to turn this negotiating table – in his own imagination – into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering.”
Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited both the US and Iranian envoys in the country to discuss the second round of Islamabad talks, according to the ministry on Monday.
Naqvi told Iranian ambassador Reza Amiri Moghadam that “preparations for the second phase of the Islamabad talks have been completed and foolproof security arrangements have been made for foreign delegations”.
China plays a role?
Beijing, meanwhile, has once again expressed support for Pakistan’s mediation efforts.
The Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, Jiang Zaidong, met Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad and both sides focused on latest regional developments, the Pakistani foreign ministry said on social media on Tuesday afternoon.
“Discussions focused on latest regional developments. [Ambassador Jiang] Zaidong conveyed China’s full support for and appreciation of Pakistan’s continued efforts to facilitate engagement between US and Iran for sustained peace and stability in the region and beyond,” the post read.
The Chinese foreign ministry also called for peace talks.
“The current situation in the region is at a critical stage of transition from war to peace. Now that a window for peace has opened, efforts should be made to create favourable conditions for ending the war as soon as possible,” ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday.
And the blockade?
The US Central Command said on social media on Monday that since the commencement of the blockade against ships entering or exiting Iranian ports and coastal areas, US forces had directed 27 vessels to turn around or return to an Iranian port.
According to Lloyd’s List on Monday, at least 26 vessels associated with Iran’s “shadow fleet” have managed to bypass the blockade declared by the US.
Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend. The US Navy seized and boarded an Iran-flagged cargo ship on Sunday.
American warships
The US will have three aircraft carrier strike groups in the Middle East in coming days.
The USS Abraham Lincoln is in the Gulf of Oman, supporting the naval blockade operation.
The USS Gerald R. Ford is returning after a fire in its laundry area in the early days of the war forced it to leave the area. It is now in the northern Red Sea.
And the USS George H.W. Bush is meanwhile near Madagascar, sailing north to the Arabian Sea. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
