US Iran Ceasefire: Uncertainty lingers over Islamabad talks as deadline nears; Vance to fly to Pakistan today

THE United States and Iran each warned they were ready for war as the clock ticked down on Tuesday on a ceasefire, with uncertainty on talks that President Donald Trump had announced would resume in Pakistan.

The White House said Vice President JD Vance was ready to fly back to the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, which was preparing for a second round of talks on ending the war that has engulfed the Middle East and shaken global markets.

But Tehran's cleric-run government declined to confirm that it would participate and accused the United States of violating the truce through its blockade of Iranian ports and seizure of a ship.

"By imposing a blockade and violating the ceasefire, Trump wants to turn this negotiating table into a surrender table or justify renewed hostilities, as he sees fit," said Iran's powerful parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who headed the delegations to talks two weeks ago in Pakistan.

Trump has similarly accused Tehran of violating the truce by harassing vessels in the key strait, the transit passage for about a fifth of the world's oil that Iran had all but shut in retaliation for the war launched February 28 by the United States and Israel.

Meanwhile, the Iranian-flagged container ship Touska, which was boarded and seized by U.S. forces on Sunday, is likely to have what Washington deems dual-use items that could be used by the military on board, maritime security sources said on Monday.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday that his country's campaign in Lebanon relied on both military and diplomatic pressure to disarm Iran-allied Hezbollah.

"The overarching goal of the campaign in Lebanon is to disarm Hezbollah and remove the threat to the northern communities (of Israel), through a combination of military and diplomatic measures," Katz said during a ceremony marking Israel's national day of remembrance for fallen soldiers and victims of terror.

"We will act in the same way with regard to high-trajectory fire (towards Israel) from north of the Litani and from throughout Lebanon", he added, referring to the Litani river, a natural marker that cuts across southern Lebanon, below which Israel wants no more Hezbollah presence.