live Qalibaf Spokesman Calls Cease-Fire Extension 'Ploy To Buy Time'

A spokesman for Iran's powerful parliament speaker late on April 21 claimed that US President ⁠Donald ⁠Trump's announcement of a cease-fire ‌extension is a "ploy to ⁠buy time" for a surprise strike.

The spokesperson to Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who is also Iran's lead negotiator, said in a social media post that the US move to continue its blockade of Iranian ports was "no ‌different from bombardment and must be met with a military response."

The remarks come hours before the expiration of a two-week cease-fire agreed to by Washington and Tehran. It was due to expire on April 22, although the exact time of the end of the truce was unclear.

US President Donald Trump on April 21 said he has indefinitely extended a cease-fire with Iran amid uncertainty about Tehran's negotiating position and at the request of Pakistani officials acting as mediators in the peace talks.

“Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump added that he will “extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other.”

Tehran did not immediately comment on whether it would also extend the cease-fire on its side.

Trump earlier said he did not want to extend the temporary cease-fire with Iran, which was due to expire on April 22, as Washington waits to see if talks with Tehran will proceed.

He added in his post that the US will continue its blockade of Iranian ports that has so far led to at two ships being seized by the US Navy.

Tehran has said it will not resume negotiations as long as the blockade is in effect, while the US has said it will not end the action until a peace deal is signed.

Iran has not decided whether to attend a second round of peace talks that were set to begin this week with the US in Islamabad, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on April 21. The US team, led by Vice President JD Vance, has delayed its departure for the Pakistani capital in reaction.

The United States has imposed a new round of sanctions targeting "eight individuals and four entities" that operate multiple procurement networks accused of helping Iran obtain weapons and rebuild missile and drone stockpiles damaged in recent US-Israeli strikes.

The measures, announced by the US Treasury Department on April 21, also block two aircraft linked to Mahan Air, which Washington says has transported Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps personnel, weapons, and funds.

Those targeted are based in Iran, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates and were cited for procuring or transporting weapons or components on Tehran’s behalf.

The US Treasury said Iran was seeking to “reconstitute its production capacity” as the United States continued to deplete Tehran's ballistic missile inventories. It added that Iran increasingly relied on "Shahed-series one-way attack unmanned aerial vehicles" -- drones -- to target the United States and its allies, including energy infrastructure in ‌the region."

The sanctions come as Washington and Tehran remained deadlocked over whether to begin a second round of talks aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending the war, which began on February 28.

A two-week cease-fire announced by President Donald Trump is due to expire on April 22.

Brett Erickson, who heads Obsidian Risk Advisors, told RFE/RL that the designations were significant for focusing on “Shaheds and missile precursors,” which underpin Iran’s asymmetric warfare capabilities.

He added that the sanctions were "aimed squarely at the engine behind Iran’s maritime disruption strategy.”

"Drones, missiles, and irregular operations all depend on supply chains that have to be constantly fed. The goal is to starve that system," he said. "The bet is that without this replenishment pipeline, the ability for Iran to target shipping within the strait eventually runs out of fuel."

With reporting by RFE/RL Washington correspondent Alex Raufoglu and Reuters.

Iran has not decided whether to attend last-ditch peace talks with the United States in Islamabad, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on April 21, after US forces boarded a large Iranian oil tanker at sea.

Baqaei called the action, and an earlier cargo ship seizure, “piracy at sea and state terrorism,” saying it cast doubts on Washington’s seriousness about negotiations.

Iran has blocked access to the Strait of Hormuz that controls access to the Persian Gulf to all ships but its ‌own or those Tehran approves for transit, while the US is maintaining a blockade of Iranian ports

Trump has threatened to resume military action and attack Iranian civilian infrastructure, such as bridges and power plants, unless Tehran accepts his terms.

Tensions in the region remain high while cargo ships pile up in the Gulf due to the standoff. Trump has said the blockade will not be lifted until a peace deal is signed.

While shipping traffic has largely ground to a halt, some ships have reportedly passed through the Hormuz waterway.

Vice President JD Vance, who is due to lead the US delegation at the Islamabad discussions, has not yet departed for the Pakistani capital.

US President Donald Trump has called on Iran to release eight women whom a US-based activist claimed the Iranian regime is “preparing to hang” -- an assertion that could not immediately be verified and was denied by an Iranian media outlet.

“To the Iranian leaders, who will soon be in negotiations with my representatives: I would be very grateful if these women are released, Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform on April 21.

“I am sure they will appreciate this action of yours,” Trump added. “Please do not harm them! This could be a very good start for our negotiations!!!"

The post came with prospects for a second round of US-Iran talks in Islamabad uncertain amid a two-week cease-fire that Trump has said will expire late on April 22.

Trump’s post included an X post from earlier in the day in which pro-Israel activist Eyal Yakoby wrote that Iran “is preparing to hang eight women.”

Yakoby’s post featured photographs of eight girls and women.

It did not name them, but RFE/RL’s Radio Farda has determined that they are Bita Hemmati, Ghazal Ghalandari, Golnaz Naraghi, Panah Movahedi, Ensieh Nejati, Mahboubeh Shabani, Venus Hosseinnejad, and Diana Taherabadi.

Rights groups have said that Hemmati has been sentenced to death in connection with mass demonstrations in January.

The Iran-focused human rights group Hengaw said earlier this month that Shabani, who is 33 and was also detained during the protests, faces a charge of “waging war against God,” which "can result in the death penalty."

RFE/RL could not immediately confirm the status of the others and whether any of them have been sentenced to death.

Iran’s Mizan News Agency, which is affiliated with the Iranian judiciary, reported that “a number of them have been released, some are facing charges that, if confirmed by the court, will ultimately result in imprisonment, and finally, none of these individuals has a definitive sentence that would put them at risk of execution."

Speaking on condition of anonymity, senior US officials said releasing the women was not a precondition for talks but that the US believes it would be a constructive gesture to help set the stage for genuine discussions.

Trump said on April 21 that he does not want to extend the cease-fire, which has halted most hostilities in the US-Israeli war with Iran, which began on February 28.

With reporting by RFE/RL Washington correspondent Alex Raufoglu

Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar says Islamabad is still awaiting a “formal response” from Iran confirming attendance at peace talks with the US, which Pakistan is mediating, while remaining in “constant touch” with Tehran.

Tarar said in an X post on April 21 that the cease-fire ends at 4:50 a.m. Pakistan Standard Time on April 22 (7:50 p.m. US Eastern Standard Time on April 21) and that Iran’s decision was “critical.”

Iranian state TV later said the cease-fire would expire at 3:30 a.m. Tehran time on April 22 (8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on April 21), according to AFP.

US President Donald Trump has indicated that the cease-fire will end on April 22 and that he does not want to extend it.

Iran has condemned the United Arab Emirate’s arrest of alleged Iran-linked suspects accused by Abu Dhabi of plotting terrorist acts.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the detentions had been carried out on “baseless pretexts” and he urged the UAE to respect detainees’ rights and avoid retaliation.

UAE authorities said those being held had sought to recruit Emiratis and channel funds to suspicious foreign entities.

The dispute reflects worsening Iran-UAE relations since regional conflict conflict in the Middle East began on February 28 when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran.

Iran accuses Persian Gulf states of aiding US attacks, claims they deny, while Gulf governments have been intensifying crackdowns on cells with alleged links to Iran and Hezbollah -- an Tehran-backed militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon and which is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, while the European Union has blacklisted its armed wing.

With reporting by AFP

US President Donald Trump said he does not want to extend a temporary cease-fire with Iran, which is due to expire on April 22, as Washington waits to see if talks with Tehran will proceed.

Speaking in a live phone interview with CNBC on April 21, Trump said the United States was in a strong negotiating position and would end up with what he ⁠called a "great deal" when the two sides finally meet.

Talks were expected to be held on April 21 but Iran has yet to say officially it would participate. US Vice President JD Vance is said to be ready to depart Washington "soon," according to officials, though there was no exact timing for his departure. When asked by CNBC if he would extend the current two-week cease-fire that is about to end, Trump said: "I ‌don't want to do that. We don't have that much time."

He also warned that "I expect to ⁠be bombing because I ‌think that's a better attitude to go in with."

Pakistan, which has acted as a mediator in the peace process, urged ⁠both the ‌United States and Iran ⁠to extend their truce, but reports from several media outlets say Tehran is weighing its options while waiting to see if its conditions, including an end to the US military's blockade of Iranian ports, and a recognition of its right to enrich uranium, would be met.

Read more here.

The US Department of Defense announced that its military forces had boarded a sanctioned ship called the M/T Tifani without incident in South Asian waters on the night of April 20.

"We will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran -- anywhere they operate," the Pentagon statement said. "International waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels," it added, saying the defense department "will continue to deny illicit actors and their vessels freedom of maneuver in the maritime domain."

Along with this statement, the US Department of Defense released images of military helicopters flying over an oil tanker and military helicopters landing onboard.

This is the second ship the United States has seized and taken control of since imposing a naval blockade on Iran on April 19.

The Islamic republic has called the naval blockade and ship seizure a "violation of the cease-fire."

Arsenio Dominguez, head of the United Nations' maritime agency, warned on April 21 of the plight of thousands of sailors stranded due to the severe disruption in the Strait of Hormuz amid the US-Israeli war with Iran.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) reported that around 20,000 seafarers and 2,000 ships are stranded after shipping was disrupted in the strategic waterway, through which around one-fifth of the world's crude and liquefied natural gas normally transits.

Addressing a maritime conference in Singapore on April 21, Dominguez said stranded sailors are suffering from stress and fatigue.

"We need to know everything that they're going through," he said, urging shipping companies to find a way to provide mental health and other support to the stranded crews.

He said some countries have set up helplines for sailors, while others have been providing them with provisions.

Shipping remains mostly blocked in the strait as the United States and Iran both warned they were ready for war, as the deadline on a cease-fire was set to expire on April 22.

With reporting by AFP