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U.S. Intercepts Iranian Ship Breaching Strait of Hormuz Blockade as Peace Talks Loom
The United States seized an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel that attempted to breach its naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz, prompting Iran to vow retaliation and state it has no plans to attend upcoming talks in Islamabad. A tenuous ceasefire expires midweek, as Pakistan pushes for negotiations to resume Tuesday. Oil prices rose to $95 a barrel amid renewed tensions.
Apr 16, 2:29 AM·3m read64 sources
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U.S. naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz. The vessel, identified by its IMO number 9328900, had departed Port Klang, Malaysia, laden with cargo and crossed the blockade line before the interception.
U.S. forces have full custody of the ship and are examining its contents. U.S. instituted the blockade of Iranian ports last week.
Iran’s joint military command called the armed boarding an act of piracy and a violation of the ceasefire, vowing to respond and to enforce restrictions on Strait of Hormuz traffic imposed early in the war. On Saturday, Iranian forces fired at ships attempting to transit the strait. U.S.
Threats to Iranian ships and ports demonstrated Washington’s disingenuousness ahead of planned talks. -Iran talks on Monday, despite the incident, with the tenuous ceasefire set to expire two days later. U.S.
Ambassador to discuss arrangements. Pakistan pushed for the talks to resume Tuesday as planned. Two Pakistani officials said Iran expressed willingness to send a delegation to Islamabad. U.S. President Donald Trump said American negotiators would head to the Pakistani capital on Monday.
U.S. blockade will remain in full force until Tehran reaches a deal with the United States. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran on Monday that there were no plans yet to attend the talks.
“We have no plans for the next round of negotiations and no decision has been made in this regard,” Baghaei said. Iran received new proposals from the United States on Saturday. U.S.
And Israel attacked Iran on February 28, initiating the war. Hundreds of vessels waited at each end of the strait for clearance on Monday. More than 20 vessels crossed the strait on Saturday, the highest number since early March.
