(Bloomberg) — The US and Iran are looking to arrange a second round of peace talks in the coming days as a standoff in the Strait of Hormuz worsens a global energy crisis and complicates diplomatic prospects.
The objective is to hold more discussions before an April 7 ceasefire expires next week, according to people familiar with the matter. One proposal is to return to Pakistan, where initial negotiations were held last weekend, although other venues are being considered, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private deliberations.
US President Donald Trump said talks could resume “over the next two days” in Pakistan, the New York Post reported. That would build on a marathon yet inconclusive session in Islamabad on Saturday night. In a Fox Business interview, Trump reiterated he sees the war as “close to over.”
Trump told ABC News that he isn’t thinking about extending the ceasefire beyond its April 22 expiration, predicting “an amazing two days ahead.”
The president also didn’t commit to whether the US would remain in negotiations to secure a deal with Iran or instead withdraw military forces without a peace plan.
“It could end either way, but I think a deal is preferable because then they can rebuild,” Trump said. “They really do have a different regime now. No matter what, we took out the radicals.”
In the meantime, the US is pressing ahead with a naval blockade of Hormuz to curb the Islamic Republic’s oil exports, as the battle for control of the strategic waterway intensifies. At the same time, more than 20 commercial ships that weren’t visiting Iranian ports have transited the strait in the last day, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The US has arranged for 24-hour enforcement of the blockade with an armada of more than 12 vessels. That includes destroyers and the USS Tripoli amphibious assault ship, accompanied by F-35 jets and Marine vessels for boarding operations, as well as the USS Canberra littoral combat ship that could help clear sea mines.
The vessels are concentrated in the Gulf of Oman instead of hugging Iran’s coast or in the Strait of Hormuz, a US official said. Dispersal gives the US more room to maneuver and resupply, while reducing exposure to Iranian anti-ship missiles and enabling boarding operations, if needed, the official said.
The Trump administration will allow a waiver temporarily authorizing the purchase of certain Iranian crude oil to expire this weekend, the Treasury Department said. A similar waiver for Russian crude lapsed last week as part of efforts to ease global energy shocks from the six-week war.
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