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

US President Donald Trump told the New York Post that a delegation led by Vice President JD Vance was due to arrive in Pakistan "tonight," but there was no immediate confirmation that Vance had left the United States and Tehran has not said it will take part in a new round of peace talks.

"We're supposed to have the talks…. So I would assume at this point nobody's playing games," the Post quoted Trump as saying in a brief interview it said was held shortly after 9 a.m. Eastern time on April 20.

"They're heading over now," Trump was quoted as saying. While he did not specify whether that meant the delegation was already in the air, he said, "They'll be there tonight, [Islamabad] time."

However, sources told RFE/RL on condition of anonymity that the plane Vance normally uses, Air Force Two, remained on the ground at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington. Reuters, citing two unnamed sources, reported that Vance had not yet departed, and several media reports cited sources as saying he would do so soon.

Trump had said a day earlier that US negotiators would travel to Islamabad for talks and would arrive on April 20.

But neither Iran nor mediator Pakistan confirmed it at the time, and Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei said earlier on April 20 that "We have no plans for the next round of negotiation, and no decision has been made in this regard."

Around the time the Post published its story, Reuters cited an unnamed senior Iranian official as saying Tehran was positively reviewing its participation in potential peace talks with the United States ‌but that no final decision had been made.

The Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters, the Iranian military's joint operational command, has said its forces did not react to the US seizure of an Iranian-flagged ship in the Sea of Oman "due to the presence of some families of its crew."

The US Navy took control of the cargo vessel, the Touska, in the Sea of Oman on April 19.

Referring to what he called preparations for a "decisive confrontation" with the US Navy, a spokesman for the joint command claimed that Iran's armed forces "faced restrictions due to the presence of some families of the Iranian ship's crew...who were in danger at every moment."

It wasn't clear if the spokesman meant that the families of the crew were on board the ship. The claim has not been confirmed by the United States.

"Necessary action will be taken after ensuring the safety of the families and crew of the ship," the spokesman said without giving details.

Earlier, Iran's joint command said the seizure of the vessel was "piracy and armed aggression by the US military."

US President Donald Trump and the Pentagon said that the Touska attempted to evade the blockade and ignored warnings to stop, prompting the US Navy to target the ship’s engine room and halt its progress.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei said on April 20 that the Iranian side has no plans to participate in a second round of peace talks with the United States.

There has been continued uncertainty over a potential second round of Pakistani-hosted face-to-face talks between US and Iranian delegations in Islamabad. While the White House has said a delegation is on the way to Pakistan for April 20 talks, Iranian state media has been reporting that Tehran had said it would not be sending a team.

At his weekly meeting with reporters, Baqaei said that "Iran will make the appropriate decision on continuing the path of negotiations by prioritizing national interests and concerns."

He also called the US seizure of an Iranian ship "aggression" and said that Iranian authorities were investigating the incident.

At the same time, a senior Iranian official told Reuters: "The differences over the nuclear program remain unresolved and the gaps have not narrowed."

The unnamed official said that “the continued US naval blockade undermines Iran-US peace talks” and that “Iran’s defense capabilities, including its missile program, are non-negotiable.”

Iran’s Treasury Department has issued a circular authorizing all ministries, government institutions, and state-owned companies to sell or exchange government buildings damaged during the war.

According to the directive, executive agencies are authorized to determine the fate of government buildings that have suffered extensive damage in the war and are deemed non-restorable.

According to reports in Iranian media, Rahmatollah Akrami, the country's Treasury secretary, issued the communique in order to "provide rapid financial resources for the reconstruction of war zones as well as reduce the costs of uneconomic repairs."

Since the war began on February 28, Iranian officials have reported widespread damage to civilian infrastructure, historical sites, and government buildings from US and Israeli strikes. Most of these claims, however, can not be independently verified.

Iran's judiciary announced the execution of two more people on April 20 on charges of "connections with Israel" and "espionage."

Mizan, the judiciary's news agency, named them as Mohammad Masoomshahi and Hamed Walidi, claiming that they "had communicated with Israeli intelligence officers and received training from them through cyberspace and travel to the Iraqi Kurdistan region."

The judiciary said that the executed individuals were planning to attack "two public service and military centers" in Tehran.

According to Mizan, the men were charged with "collaboration with hostile groups and Israel," "gathering and colluding against national security," "membership in a criminal terrorist group with the aim of disrupting national security," and "propaganda activity against the regime."

Independent verification of the trial details is not available. Human rights organizations have long raised concerns about due process, torture, and coerced confessions in Iranian espionage trials.

Since the war began on February 28, dozens of people have been arrested or executed in Iran on charges of collaborating with Israel.

Human rights organizations have expressed concern over the significant increase in the number of executions in Iran over the past year.

We are now closing the live blog for the day. We'll be back tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. Central European time to cover the latest events across the Middle East.

Iran's top joint military command accused US forces of violating a cease-fire by shooting at and seizing an Iranian commercial vessel in the Gulf of Oman and vowed to retaliate "soon," according to state media.

State media quoted a spokesperson as saying early on April 20 that the ship was traveling from China to Iran when it was intercepted.

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"We warn that the armed forces of the ‌Islamic republic of Iran will soon ⁠respond and ‌retaliate against this armed piracy by the US military," the spokesperson said.

Hours earlier, US President Donald Trump and the Pentagon announced that the US forces had fired upon and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that attempted to evade a US maritime blockade.

US Central Command said the ship, the Touska, "failed to comply to repeated commands" over a six-hour period. The guided-missile destroyer Spruance fired several rounds into Touska’s engine room, it said. Trump said the ship was now under US control.

President Trump announces US forces have intercepted an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that tried to pass through a US maritime blockade and now have "full custody" of it.

"Today, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship named TOUSKA, nearly 900 feet long and weighing almost as much as an aircraft carrier, tried to get past our Naval Blockade, and it did not go well for them," Trump wrote in his Truth Social post on April 19.

The president added that the country's guided-missile destroyer, USS Spruance, intercepted an Iranian ship in the Gulf of Oman, saying US forces warned it to stop before "blowing a hole" in the vessel's engine room after it refused to comply.

"Right now, US Marines have custody of the vessel. The TOUSKA is under U.S. Treasury Sanctions because of their prior history of illegal activity," Trump added. "We have full custody of the ship, and are seeing what’s on board!"

The development comes amid uncertainty over the second round of negotiations between Washington and Tehran in Pakistan, previously announced by Trump. There has been no official announcement from Iran regarding its participation in the talks.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif announced that he spoke with Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian about the Middle East conflict, saying Islamabad remained committed to its role in establishing regional stability.

Sharif said he told Pezeshkian about his conversations with leaders from the Gulf, including those of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as well as NATO member Turkey.

"I appreciated Iran's engagement, including its high-level delegation to Islamabad for the historic talks," Sharif wrote on X on April 19.

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The 45-minute call between the leaders came after Iranian media reported that Tehran was rejecting participation in the second round of negotiations with the United States in Pakistan, announced by US President Donald Trump.

With no official response from Tehran regarding its participation in the talks, it remains unclear whether diplomatic efforts to end the war will resume in Islamabad on April 20. A readout of the call did not mention when the next round of negotiations might take place.

Iranian state-affiliated media have not yet confirmed that Tehran will send its delegation for a new round of negotiations with the United States, announced by President Donald Trump.

Iran's Fars News Agency, which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), reported that no final decision on Iran's participation in the second round of talks has been made, but suggested it could not be ruled out.

The agency added that its sources viewed the conditions for the talks as not "particularly positive" and that Tehran would not consider meeting in Islamabad if the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz continued.

The semi-official Tasnim News Agency also reported that Iran has "no current plan to send a negotiating delegation."

Official Iranian news agency IRNA went further, saying Tehran rejected participation in the talks: "Iran stated that its absence from the second round of talks stems from what it called Washington's excessive demands, unrealistic expectations, constant shifts in stance, repeated contradictions, and the ongoing naval blockade, which it considers a breach of the ceasefire."

Earlier in the day, Trump said US negotiators would arrive on April 20 to resume efforts to end the war, little more than a week after earlier talks in the Pakistani capital ended without agreement.