Iran declines Islamabad talks as U.S. plans visit

April 20, 2026

Summary

Iran said it would not attend planned U.S. talks in Islamabad as Pakistan prepared for an American delegation’s arrival.

Why this matters

The collapse of planned talks raised new questions about whether a ceasefire would hold and whether oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz would remain disrupted. That has implications for regional security and global energy markets.

Iran does not plan to take part in a new round of peace talks with the United States in Islamabad, Iran’s state news agency reported Sunday, hours after President Donald Trump said he was sending envoys to Pakistan and warned he would strike Iran unless it accepted his terms.

IRNA said Iran’s decision to skip the talks was due to what it described as Washington’s “excessive demands, unrealistic expectations, constant shifts in stance, repeated contradictions, and the ongoing naval blockade,” which Iran considers a breach of the ceasefire.

Trump also said the U.S. military had taken control of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship by blowing a hole in its engine room. “We have full custody of their ⁠ship, and are seeing what’s on board!” he wrote on social media.

The United States has kept a blockade of Iranian ports in place, while Iran has lifted and then reimposed its own blockade of marine traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which before the war began nearly two months ago handled about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.

Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, had earlier said the sides had made progress but remained far apart on nuclear issues and the strait.

Pakistan has been the main mediator. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke Sunday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Sharif’s office said Pezeshkian thanked Pakistan for its mediation efforts, but the readout did not mention Iran rejecting the next round of talks.

European allies, repeatedly criticized by Trump for not aiding his war effort, have expressed concern that Washington’s negotiating team could pursue a quick deal while more complex issues remain unresolved.

MarineTraffic data showed two liquefied petroleum gas tankers tried to transit the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday morning but turned back after reaching waters south of Larak Island. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said Iran’s armed forces turned them back. One tanker, the Angola-flagged G Summer, later exited the Gulf on a second attempt Saturday evening.

Pakistan appeared to be preparing for talks. Two U.S. C-17 cargo planes landed at an air base Sunday afternoon with security equipment and vehicles, two Pakistani security sources said. Islamabad halted public transport and heavy-goods traffic, barbed wire was placed near the Serena Hotel, and the hotel told guests to leave.

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