Iran has said it is not planning to take part in the second round of talks with the United States, state media said. This came as US President Donald Trump ordered US negotiators to travel to Pakistan just days before a ceasefire in the Middle East expires on April 22.
“The reports circulating about a second round of negotiations in Islamabad are false,” Iran’s state-sponsored broadcaster, Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), said.
According to IRNA, America’s “excessive demands, unreasonable and unrealistic expectations, frequent shifts in positions, continuous contradictions, and the so-called naval blockade which violates ceasefire understanding, along with threatening rhetoric, have so far hindered progress in the negotiations.”
The reports circulating about a second round of negotiations in Islamabad are false.
— IRNA News Agency ☫ (@IrnaEnglish) April 19, 2026
“Under these conditions, the outlook for constructive talks remains bleak,” it added.
Tehran also accused Washington of playing a “blame game” and lying about Iran’s participation in a second round of talks in order to put pressure on the country.
ALSO READ: 7 Weeks On, Why Iran Hasn’t Buried Ali Khamenei? Expert’s ‘Fear’ Claim
Reza Amiri Moghadam, Iran’s Ambassador to Pakistan, also slammed the US for violating international law after the Iranian vessel was attacked.
“You cannot keep violating the international law, double down on your blockade, threaten Iran with further war crimes, insist on unreasonable demands, pace out with rethorics and pretend to be pursuing ‘Diplomacy’. As long as the naval blockade remains, faultlines remain,” he wrote in a post on X.
US-Iran Talks
The ongoing US blockade of Iranian ports has been a significant sticking point, an issue further complicated by an American destroyer firing on and seizing an Iranian ship that tried to evade it. Tehran warned it would retaliate.
The Fars and Tasnim news agencies had earlier cited anonymous sources as saying “the overall atmosphere cannot be assessed as very positive”, adding that lifting the US blockade was a precondition for negotiations.
ALSO READ: High-Flying Iranian Woman Charged With Moving Arms Worth Millions For Tehran
Iran and the United States, along with Israel, are just two days away from the end of the two-week ceasefire that halted the Middle East war, started after a surprise US-Israeli strike on Iran on February 28.
Trump has also accused Iran of violating the ceasefire, saying he still thinks he can get a peace deal, according to an ABC News report. “We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it,” the US president said, while also renewing his threats against Iran’s infrastructure if a deal is not made.
ALSO READ: Indian Tanker Crosses Hormuz As 2 Vessels Forced To Turn Back After Firing
He also previously wrote in a post on Truth Social that US representatives are going to Islamabad, Pakistan, “tomorrow night” for Iran negotiations, with a White House official later confirming to The Jerusalem Post that US Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner would lead the delegation heading to Pakistan.
On Sunday afternoon, Trump told Axios that he was optimistic about the talks with Tehran in Islamabad. “I feel fine about it. The concept of the deal is done. I think we have a very good chance to get it completed,” he said.