Efforts to build a more lasting peace in the region likewise appeared to be on shaky ground, as Iran said it would not participate in a second round of negotiations that the US had hoped to kick off before the ceasefire expires on Tuesday.
The US has maintained a blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran has lifted and then reimposed its own blockade on marine traffic passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The US military said Sunday it fired on an Iranian-flagged cargo ship as the vessel sailed toward Iran's Bandar Abbas port. President Donald Trump wrote on social media that the US now has full custody of the Iranian ship.
Iran said its armed forces will soon respond and retaliate against this armed piracy. Iranian state media reported that Tehran had rejected new peace talks, citing the ongoing blockade, threatening rhetoric, and Washington's shifting positions and "excessive demands."
Trump earlier warned Iran that the US would destroy every bridge and power plant in Iran if Tehran rejected his terms, continuing a recent pattern of such threats. Iran has said that if the United States were to attack its civilian infrastructure it would hit power stations and desalination plants of Gulf Arab neighbors.
