Europe
Trump says US, Iran to hold more talks despite Hormuz tensions
Stars and Stripes
April 17, 2026
American and French naval vessels transit the Strait of Hormuz in this undated photo. (Keith Nowak/U.S. Navy)
U.S. negotiators will travel to Pakistan for another round of talks with Iran, President Donald Trump said Sunday, continuing diplomacy as tensions in the Strait of Hormuz threaten to unravel a fragile ceasefire.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said his representatives will be in Islamabad on Monday evening for negotiations, despite Iran firing on ships in the strait a day earlier — a move he said “wasn’t nice” and represented a “Total Violation” of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire.
“We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it,” Trump said, warning that if Iran does not agree, the United States would “knock out every single Power Plant and every single Bridge in Iran,” repeating a threat he has made in recent weeks.
“NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!” he added.
It was not immediately clear whether more talks would take place. Iranian state media reported late Sunday that Iran will not participate in more negotiations until the U.S. ends its naval blockade.
The possibility of more talks follows a whirlwind several days that have left both the state of the U.S.-Iran conflict and the timeline for reopening the Strait of Hormuz increasingly unclear.
After Iran unexpectedly announced Friday the strait would be open during a ceasefire, Trump said a U.S. naval blockade on Iran would remain in place. Within hours, Iran reversed course, reimposing restrictions and firing on commercial ships trying to pass through.
Iran’s military said Saturday that its “strict management and control” of the strait would continue until the U.S. ends its naval blockade.
The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively shut down since the launch of the joint U.S.-Israel military operation against Iran nearly two months ago. The U.S. Navy blockade aims to wrest control from Iran, whose retaliatory measures have reduced maritime traffic there to a trickle.
Since the start of the blockade this week, 23 ships have complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around and return to Iran, U.S. Central Command said Saturday.
A British maritime security monitoring group reported that multiple ships either came under fire or were struck by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.
The developments show how dangerous the situation remains in the vital shipping lane, and how it could easily worsen, even as both sides signal a willingness to keep negotiating.
In a national address Saturday, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who has played a key role in negotiations, said Tehran remains engaged in diplomacy but is prepared for further conflict.
He said Iran does not trust the United States and warned that escalation remains possible, while also asserting that Iran maintains control over the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. military and intelligence officials estimate Iran still has about 40% of its attack drone arsenal and more than 60% of its missile launchers, according to a report by The New York Times.
The conflict began at the end of February with the launch of a joint U.S.-Israel military operation that killed many of Iran’s top leaders. Iran then conducted retaliatory strikes on U.S. bases and partners across the region, as well as attacks on commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. and Iranian officials held an earlier round of talks in Pakistan this month as part of efforts to reach a broader agreement, though it remains unclear how much progress was made.
At one point Friday, Trump also declared the situation in the Strait of Hormuz “over” and said that Iran had “agreed to everything,” including working with the United States to remove its enriched uranium. Iranian officials later denied that any such deal had been reached.