Iran Vows Swift Response to US Seizure of Iranian-Flagged Vessel

washington: Iran’s military has vowed to respond quickly to the US seizure of an Iranian-flagged tanker in the Gulf of Oman, state media reported Sunday.

Iran’s state broadcaster said the military headquarters said the attack on the ship by US forces and its subsequent boarding was a violation of the ceasefire and condemned it as piracy.

The US Navy attacked and captured an Iranian-flagged cargo ship on Sunday that it said was trying to escape a naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz. The USA said that it opened fire on the ship and seized it because it ignored many warnings and crossed the blockade line.

Meanwhile, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Aragchi told his Pakistani counterpart that Washington’s demands in the negotiations and threats against Iranian ships and ports point to “clear signs” of America’s insincerity.

According to Iranian state media, the country’s top diplomat made the remarks in a telephone conversation with Pakistani foreign minister Ishaq Dar.

It’s another indication of how the standoff between Washington and Tehran has sharpened as the ceasefire expired on Wednesday. This could also shake plans for a new round of US-Iran talks in Islamabad this week.

US President Donald Trump had previously announced that US negotiators would go to Pakistan on Monday for a new round of negotiations with Iran.

There was no comment from Iranian officials regarding Trump’s statement.

But Iranian state media, citing anyone other than unnamed sources, published brief reports on Sunday suggesting the talks would not take place. The reports came before the US announced the seizure of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship near the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported President Massoud Pezeshkian’s phone call with the Pakistani prime minister earlier in the day. The report states that Pezeshkian claimed that the United States was bullying and unreasonable during the negotiations and ceasefire.

The report states that Pezeshkian warned that the US’s actions and threatening rhetoric had led to increased doubts among Iranian officials about the seriousness of the US and the possibility of repeating previous patterns and “betraying diplomacy”.

The report did not say whether the Iranian president was commenting on the second round of talks in Pakistan or on Trump’s statement that US forces seized an Iranian-flagged ship.