Iranian Foreign Minister: US Blockade Threat Thwarts Islamabad Negotiations

Tehran (ANTARA) - Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi stated that maximalist demands and threats of a blockade by the United States Navy thwarted the achievement of an agreement in their latest peace negotiations in Islamabad, Pakistan.

However, Araghchi said in a post on the social media platform X on Monday (13/4) morning local time, Tehran and Washington were “just one step away” from reaching an agreement in their negotiations in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, on Saturday (11/4), to ease tensions in the Middle East.

“In the most intensive high-level talks in 47 years, Iran engaged with the US in good faith to end the war. However, when we were just one step away from the ‘Islamabad MoU’, we faced maximalism, shifting demands, and blockades. No lessons learned. Good intentions will be met with good intentions. Hostility will breed hostility,” he said.

In response to the failure of the negotiations, US President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Sunday (12/4) that the US Navy would begin blockading ships attempting to enter or exit the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian Navy Commander Shahram Irani, on the same Sunday, described Trump’s threat to impose a naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz as “utterly ridiculous and laughable”, as reported by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.

He added that the Iranian Navy is monitoring all US troop movements in the region.

On the same Sunday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated in a statement that any military vessel intending to approach the Strait of Hormuz under any pretext or reason will be considered a violation of the ceasefire and will be dealt with decisively.