Trump hints Iran talks could resume this week as US maritime blockade continues

Donald Trump hinted that talks aimed at ending the war in Iran could resume this week. Trump was quoted as saying in an interview with the New York Post, "You should stay there [Islamabad], really, because something could be happening over the next two days, and we're more inclined to go there." The US has enforced a blockade of Iranian ports.

The American military said no ships had passed through the US-enforced blockade of Iranian ports and coastal areas in the first 24 hours of the operation. The stand-off has raised doubts over the prospects for a two-week ceasefire that is due to expire next week. United Nations Secretary General António Guterres said it was "highly probable" that talks would restart. Gulf, Pakistani and Iranian officials also said negotiating teams from Washington and Tehran could return to Pakistan later this week, with no date yet agreed. Iran has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz since it came under attack from US and Israeli air strikes on February 28. More than a dozen US warships and some 10,000 US military personnel are now enforcing the blockade. US Central Command (Centcom) said six merchant vessels had "complied with direction" from American forces to turn around and return to Iranian ports within the first 24 hours of the blockade. Ship-tracking data analysed by BBC Verify showed that at least four Iran-linked shipping vessels had crossed the Strait of Hormuz despite the blockade. At least two of the ships had previously been at Iranian ports. A further three ships that were not linked to Iran were seen to have crossed the strait after the blockade started on Monday, BBC Verify says.

Initial high-level negotiations in Islamabad over the weekend failed to produce a deal. The US had proposed a 20-year suspension of all uranium enrichment by Iran, a US official told CBS News. Tehran had suggested a five-year halt