Live updates: Iran warns it has 'new cards on the battlefield' with peace talks uncertain ahead of ceasefire deadline
This version of Live Updates Iran War Trump Peace Talks Vance Ceasefire Ship Hormuz Rcna341149 - World News | NBC News Clone was adapted by NBC News Clone to help readers digest key facts more efficiently.
Vice President JD Vance will likely head to Islamabad today for negotiations, a source told NBC News. The U.S. has sounded positive about talks despite uncertainty over Tehran's participation.
What to know
- POSSIBLE PEACE TALKS: President Donald Trump has sounded positive about new peace talks despite uncertainty over Tehran's participation. "They’re going to negotiate," Trump said, and "if they don’t, they’re going to see problems like they’ve never seen before." Vice President JD Vance will likely head to Islamabad today, a source told NBC News.
- IRAN SAYS READY FOR WAR: Iran has prepared “new cards on the battlefield,” its top negotiator warned, as Tehran signaled ahead of tomorrow’s ceasefire deadline that it is ready if the war resumes. Iran’s armed forces promised a “decisive response” to any renewed attacks from the U.S. or Israel.
- SEIZED SHIP FUELS TENSIONS: Iran has condemned the U.S. seizure of an Iranian cargo ship, demanding its immediate release and vowing retaliation. The American naval blockade has added to tensions around the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
- DEATH TOLL: Iran’s forensics chief said nearly 3,400 people had been killed in the country since U.S.-Israeli strikes began Feb. 28. More than 2,200 people have been killed in Lebanon, 32 have been killed in Gulf states, and 23 have died in Israel. Thirteen U.S. service members have been killed, and two more died of noncombat causes.
- INSIGHTS AND ANALYSIS: Get exclusive analysis and insight into the Middle East conflict by becoming an NBC News subscriber.
Strait of Hormuz traffic remains low amid escalating standoff, tracking data shows
Only 12 vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours, Marine Traffic shows, as traffic through the key waterway remains low.
Four of the vessels were sailing under the Iranian flag, the shipping data site shows. Most of the 12 vessels passed through the Iranian-approved route off Bandar Abbas.
Traffic in the world’s most important oil chokepoint drastically reduced following Iran’s announcement it had reimposed “strict control” over Hormuz again on Saturday, just one day after they declared the complete opening of the strait.
There are still 12 vessels anchoring or sailing in the area, according to Marine Traffic.
Campaign still ongoing but have pushed away existential threat, Netanyahu says
Israel's war campaign has "not yet ended," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today, though he added, "we have already pushed away an existential threat from ourselves."
"We have returned all of our hostages, struck our enemies hard, and made Israel a nation stronger than ever before," Netanyahu said in Hebrew, marking Yom HaZikaron, the Remembrance Day for the Fallen of Israel’s Wars and Victims of Terror.
Iran must be prepared for more attacks, judiciary chief says
The possibility of the enemy resuming attacks is not low and Iran must be 100% prepared, its judiciary chief has said.
In comments carried by semi-official news agency Mehr News, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei said the enemy believed it could achieve its goals in a short time, but it has by no means achieved its intended objectives. An enemy that had goals and made efforts will certainly not stop its actions, Mohseni-Ejei said according to Mehr News.
The American regime’s blockade of Iran’s ports and coastlines, as well as its seizure of an Iranian commercial vessel in the waters of the Oman Sea, is a violation of the ceasefire and an example of a war crime, Mohseni-Ejei said.
We will certainly respond to these acts of aggression by the Americans, he added.
War in Iran is causing biggest energy crisis in history, IEA says
The conflict between Iran and the United States and Israel is creating the worst energy crisis ever faced by the world, the head of the International Energy Agency.
“This is indeed the biggest crisis in history,” Fatih Birol told France Inter radio in an interview broadcast earlier today.
“The crisis is already huge, if you combine the effects of the petrol crisis and the gas crisis with Russia,” he added.
The war in the Middle East has choked up maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, which is a conduit for a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows. It has also come on top of the effects of Russia’s war with Ukraine, which had already severed Russian gas supplies to Europe.
Birol had said earlier this month that he viewed the current situation in global energy markets as worse than previous crises in 1973, 1979 and 2022 combined.
Iran will respond decisively to any renewed hostile action, senior commander says
The Iranian military is prepared to deliver a "decisive" and "immediate" response to renewed enemy threats and actions, Maj. Gen. Abdollahi, Commander of the Iranian military's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said today, according to the semi-official news agency Tasnim.
"The armed forces will not allow misuse or false and misleading narratives about the situation on the ground, especially regarding the management and control of the Strait of Hormuz," he said, referring to Trump as "lying and delusional."
Pakistan’s tense capital awaits new peace talks as ceasefire deadline looms
The stage is set, but the lead actors haven’t turned up — not yet anyway.
For 24 hours parts of Pakistan’s capital have been locked down in anticipation of potentially decisive new talks between America’s Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s leadership.
Aamir Qureshi / AFP via Getty Images
With the ceasefire set to expire there is added time pressure on all sides. The tension is palpable here.
Removing enriched uranium from Iran will be a ‘long and difficult’ process, says Trump
Removing enriched uranium from Iran will be a “long and difficult process,” Trump said overnight, crediting last year’s U.S.-Israeli campaign with the “total obliteration” of Tehran’s nuclear sites.
It comes amid uncertainty over whether peace talks between Iran and the U.S. will continue in Pakistan this week, with the fate of the enriched uranium likely a key sticking point.
“Operation Midnight Hammer was a complete and total obliteration of the Nuclear Dust sites in Iran,” Trump wrote in a post on TruthSocial early this morning, referring to the June 2025 operation against Iran's nuclear sites. “Therefore, digging it out will be a long and difficult process,” he added.
A U.S. assessment found that operation destroyed only one of three Iranian nuclear sites.
The marathon talks in Islamabad earlier this month failed to reach a peace agreement. NBC News reported that the U.S. asked Iran during the talks for a 20-year suspension of uranium enrichment. Iran agreed to three to five years, which Trump has said was not acceptable, according to a person familiar with the ongoing negotiations.
The U.S. has also asked Iran to remove highly enriched uranium from the country, but Iran agreed to a “monitored process of down blending” — which is a process by which more dangerous, highly-enriched uranium is mixed with natural or less potent uranium to create a less potent material, the person added.
Iran says no delegation has traveled to Pakistan 'so far'
Iran has sent no delegation to Islamabad so far, the country's state broadcaster IRIB has said this morning.
"No Iranian diplomatic delegation—be it a primary or secondary team, or an initial or follow-up mission—has traveled to Islamabad, Pakistan so far," IRIB said in a post on X.
It comes as the world watches for signs that a new round of peace talks with the U.S. may go ahead of tomorrow's ceasefire deadline.
In a Telegram post delivering the same message, IRIB elaborated in Farsi that "since Saturday, numerous reports have circulated about the “departure” or “arrival” of an Iranian delegation to Pakistan and even about the timing of a meeting being held “Monday afternoon” or “Tuesday morning” by international (including American) and regional media all of which are inaccurate."
It added that "Iranian officials have maintained a consistent position since Sunday evening saying: “We do not accept negotiations under threats or breaches of commitments,” and “continuing participation in the talks depends on changes in the behavior and positions of the Americans.”"
Iran will negotiate but face serious 'problems' if it doesn't, Trump says
Trump said last night that if Iran does not negotiate the country will "see problems like they’ve never seen before."
“Well, they’re going to negotiate. And if they don’t, they’re going to see problems like they’ve never seen before,” Trump said in an interview on the John Fredericks Show.
“And they’re going to negotiate, and hopefully they’ll make a fair deal, and they’ll build their country back up.”
Iran condemns U.S. seizure of ship and demands crew’s immediate release
The Iranian foreign ministry condemned the U.S. seizure of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, describing it as “piracy” and an “act of aggression” against Iran and demanding the crew be immediately released.
According to state media, the ministry called the Sunday night seizure of the Touska commercial vessel an “illegal and brutal act” that “constitutes piracy and a terrorist action.” It said the seizure near Iran’s coast in the Sea of Oman was “another clear breach” of the two-week U.S.-Iran ceasefire, which expires Wednesday.
U.S forces patrol near the Iranian-flagged cargo ship M/V Touska after it was boarded and seized by the U.S. on Sunday, in an image released yesterday. @CENTCOM / via X
U.S. officials said the Touska was attempting to breach a U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and that it had been seized after six hours of repeated warnings.
The Iranian foreign ministry said it had brought the matter to the attention of the United Nations, and that Iran would do everything in its power to defend its national interests and security. “Clearly, full responsibility for any further escalation in the region lies with America,” it said.
Iran warns it won't negotiate under threat ahead of possible new talks
Two top Iranian officials likely to play a key role in peace negotiations have issued a consistent message overnight: Tehran won't negotiate under threat.
The man likely to lead Iran's team in possible new talks in Pakistan, Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said in a post on X last night that "we do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threat."
He warned that "over the past 2 weeks we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield."
And this morning the Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan issued a similar warning.
"It’s a truth universally acknowledged that a single country in possession of a large Civilisation, will Not negotiate under Threat and Force," said Reza Amiri Moghadam.
"This is a substantial, Islamic and theological principle. I wish the US would have perceived ...," he added.
Tehran has expressed outrage that Trump has maintained the U.S. Naval blockade of Iran even after it announced the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
