Iran War: What is happening on the 52nd day of the US-Israel conflict? | explainer news

Islamabad’s talks are in limbo as Tehran says it will retaliate after US marines intercepted an Iranian-flagged ship near the Strait of Hormuz.

Donald Trump announced on Sunday that a second round of US-Iran talks are to be held in Pakistan on Monday – but Tehran has not confirmed participation two days before the ceasefire deal expires.

The capture of an Iranian-flagged container ship by US marines near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday has further threatened the Islamabad talks, as Tehran promised to retaliate.

The attack came hours after President Trump announced he was sending a team to Islamabad for talks, while once again threatening to destroy Iran’s power plants and bridges if a deal was not reached. The ceasefire is set to expire on Wednesday after more than a month of fighting.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, spoke to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday, as he reaffirmed his government’s readiness to mediate in the conflict.

Here’s what we know:

in Iran

• Iran’s top joint military commander, Khatam al-Anbiya, accused the US of violating the ceasefire by firing at an Iranian ship in the Gulf of Oman and vowed to retaliate.
• President Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday that US Marines captured a ship that tried to bypass the US blockade of Iranian ports, saying US forces stopped the ship by blowing a hole in the engine room.
• Iran executed two men convicted of collaborating with Israel’s Mossad intelligence service and planning attacks inside the country, judiciary news outlet Mizan reported on Sunday.
• French shipping company CMA CGM confirmed on Sunday that “warning shots” were fired at one of its ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.
• Iran’s armed forces turned back two tankers attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday after issuing a warning. The semi-official Tasnim news agency said it was a result of the ongoing US maritime blockade of Iran.
• The civil aviation authority said international flights from Mashhad airport in northeastern Iran would resume on Monday.

war diplomacy

• Iranian state media reported that Tehran had rejected new peace talks, citing the ongoing blockade, threatening rhetoric and Washington’s changing position and “excessive demands”.
• Iranian state media reported Sunday that Tehran does not plan to participate in talks with the United States, just hours after Trump said he was sending negotiators to Islamabad.
• The US president posted on Truth Social on Sunday that representatives were heading to Islamabad “tomorrow night” for Iran talks. “We are offering a very fair and reasonable deal, and I hope they will accept it, because if they don’t, the United States will destroy every single power plant and every single bridge in Iran,” Trump wrote.
• Pakistan Prime Minister Sharif said on Sunday that he spoke to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian about the conflict in the Gulf.
  Sharif posted on Twitter that he shared insights with Pezeshkian about his recent conversations with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.
• “I appreciated Iran’s participation, including its high-level delegation to Islamabad for historic talks and recent discussions with Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir in Tehran,” Sharif said.
• Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Sunday he was “optimistic” that a two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States, which expires on Wednesday, will be extended, allowing more time for talks between the two sides.
  

  

in America

• Trump said on Sunday that the guided missile destroyer, USS Spruance, fired upon and seized the Iranian-flagged cargo ship, the Tauska, in the Gulf of Oman, and that US Marines were “looking at what’s on the ship!”
• ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl posted on Sunday that the US President said Iran has committed a “serious violation” of the ceasefire, but still thinks he can make a peace deal. Trump said that a peace deal would “happen. ⁠Anyhow”.

in israel

• Argentine President Javier Meili has reaffirmed his country’s support for the campaign against Iran, citing his government’s earlier decision to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a “terrorist organization”.
• Miley, who is visiting Israel for the third time since taking office, declared on Sunday that a joint US-Israel war against Iran was “the right thing to do”, as she signed the so-called Isaac Accords aimed at deepening bilateral ties between Israel and the Latin American country.

in Lebanon

• The Israeli military on Monday warned residents of southern Lebanon not to go south of a specified line of villages or to areas near the Litani River, saying its forces remain deployed in the area during the ceasefire, amid what it described as continued Hezbollah activity.
• The Israeli military also said it had determined that an image circulating on social media showing a soldier killing a statue of Jesus Christ in southern Lebanon is authentic and depicts one of its soldiers.
• The viral photo of an Israeli soldier hitting a statue of Jesus with a hammer has sparked outrage.
• French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to meet Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Paris on Tuesday. The announcement comes after a French peacekeeper was killed in Lebanon during a fragile 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
• Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military would use “full force” in Lebanon – even during the ongoing ceasefire – if Israeli troops faced any threat from Hezbollah.
• The Lebanese army said it had reopened a road and bridge between Nabatieh and Khardali, which were damaged by Israeli attacks in the south.

Oil prices increased

• Oil prices rose on Monday after a resurgence of hostilities in the Middle East war, however, hopes of an agreement to end the seven-week crisis remained supported by equities despite Tehran saying it does not plan to participate in peace talks.