The Latest: US Navy seizure of Iranian ship casts doubt on fresh talks in Pakistan

The U.S. Navy's forcible seizure of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship threw doubt on an announcement from President Donald Trump that U.S. negotiators will head to Pakistan on Monday for another round of talks with Iran.

Trump's announcement Sunday had raised hopes of extending a fragile ceasefire set to expire by Wednesday.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei on Monday said Tehran did not have plans yet to attend any talks with the United States.

Trump said the U.S. seized the cargo ship that tried to circumvent a naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, the first such interception since the blockade of Iranian ports began last week.

Iran’s joint military command said Tehran will respond soon and called the U.S. seizure an act of piracy.

The escalating standoff threatened to deepen the energy crisis roiling the global economy and push the two countries toward renewed fighting that has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, nearly 2,300 in Lebanon, 23 civilians and 15 soldiers in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen U.S. service members have also been killed.

Here is the latest:

Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said during a visit to Germany it is unacceptable that hunger, illiteracy and a lack of access to electricity remain unresolved for billions of people while trillions are spent on wars.

“We are experiencing a critical moment in global geopolitics, marked by great paradoxes: While astronauts fly to the moon, women and children are being killed indiscriminately in the bombings in the Middle East,” he said Sunday night at the Hannover trade fair, German news agency dpa reported.

Lula called for modern technologies to be used not for wars, but “for a more sustainable and secure world.”

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed concern Monday over the U.S. seizure of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship on Sunday.

“We hope all relevant parties will adopt a responsible attitude, abide by the ceasefire agreement, avoid escalating tensions or intensifying contradictions,” spokesperson Guo Jiakun said.

“The Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway, and ensure its unimpeded passage serves the common interests of countries in the region and the international community,” Guo said.

China has called for the resumption of the normal operation of the waterway.

Iran’s military offered an explanation Monday for why it didn’t fight back against U.S. Marines who raided an Iranian vessel in the Gulf of Oman.

The Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, which oversees operations of Iran’s regular military and its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, said it held back attacking the Marines because the ship’s crew had family members aboard the Touska.

“Due to the presence of some family members of the ship’s crew, they faced constraints in order to protect their lives and ensure their safety, as they were in danger at every moment,” it said.

However, Iran also has seen much of its navy and airborne assets destroyed in the war.

Khatam al-Anbiya vowed it will take “necessary action against the terrorist U.S. military” in the future, without elaborating.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei on Monday said Tehran did not have plans yet to attend any talks with the United States.

He did not rule out Iran attending talks.

Authorities in Islamabad had been making preparations for another round potentially happened there this week.

“So far, while I am here, we have no plans for the next round of negotiations and no decision has been made in this regard,” Baghaei said during a news conference.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad on Monday.

The meeting focused on strengthening Pakistan-U.S. relations and preparations for a second round of talks scheduled to take place in Islamabad this week, Naqvi’s office said.

The statement did not specify when the talks are expected to begin.

Naqvi briefed Baker on security arrangements, saying special measures had been taken to ensure the safety of visiting delegations.

“We have made comprehensive security arrangements for our distinguished guests,” Naqvi said in the statement.

Baker offered an appreciated for Pakistan’s role in easing regional tensions and efforts to facilitate dialogue.

Pakistani authorities on Monday prepared to host a second round of talks between Iran and the United States, despite questions about whether the negotiations will take place.

Pakistan has intensified diplomatic contacts since Sunday with Washington and Tehran to ensure the talks proceed as soon as Tuesday, officials said on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke by phone late Sunday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Sharif’s office said in a statement that did not mention the planned talks.

Authorities began closing key roads and stepping up security in the capital Islamabad over the weekend, particularly around a luxury hotel where the delegations are expected to meet.

Authorities deployed troops at checkpoints, closed tourist sites and instructed major hotels to limit bookings to ensure availability.

Iran on Monday offered a new death toll for the war with Israel and the United States, with its forensic chief saying at least 3,375 people had been killed in the conflict.

The figure came from Abbas Masjedi, the head of Iran’s Legal Medicine Organization.

Masjedi, quoted by the judiciary’s Mizan news agency and other outlets Monday, said only four of the dead remain unidentified.

His comments did not break down casualties among civilians and security forces, instead just saying 2,875 were male and 496 were female.

Masjedi said 383 of the dead were children 18 years old and under.

Masjedi’s figures raised questions about whether or not they included security force members, particularly given the levels of intense bombings targeting military bases and arsenals in the country.

Iran said Monday it hanged two men it accused of setting fire to buildings on behalf of the Israeli intelligence service Mossad.

An Iranian exiled opposition group earlier claimed the men as members and alleged their charges stemmed from events that happened after they already had been detained.

The Mizan news agency of Iran’s judiciary identified the men hanged as Mohammad Masoum Shahi and Hamed Validi.

The Mujahedeen-e-Khalq opposition group identified Shahi as Nima Shahi.

The MEK said the men had been “subjected to interrogation and torture” and convicted over an incident that happened before their detention.

This brings to eight the total number of MEK members executed since the start of the war.

Activists and rights groups say Iran routinely holds closed-door trials in which defendants are unable to challenge the accusations they face.

Hezbollah said it detonated explosives Sunday afternoon in an attack against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.

The group said in a statement Monday that bombs planted by Hezbollah fighters exploded and destroyed four tanks in a convoy of eight tanks that was passing the village of Deir Siryan.

It was the first claim of an attack by Hezbollah since a 10-day ceasefire went into effect at midnight Thursday.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment.

Tehran says restrictions on Iranian oil come with a price

Iran’s first vice president, Mohammad Reza Aref, says global fuel prices could stabilize only if economic and military pressures on Iranian oil exports end.

“One cannot restrict Iran’s oil exports while expecting free security for others,” Aref wrote on X. “The choice is clear: either a free oil market for all, or the risk of significant costs for everyone.”

Women share a moment as they look at a smartphone at the main gate of the Tehran University as a banner shows portraits of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, right, and the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A soldier stands guard on a bridge ahead of second round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/M.A. Sheikh)

A U.S. Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft prepares to land at Nur Khan airbase, ahead of second round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ehsan Shahzad)

Residents of northern Israel living near the Lebanese border protest the security situation, outside the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem Sunday, April 19, 2026. Hebrew on a sign bearing an image of President Trump reads "Hezbollah thanks Trump." (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

An army soldier stands guard on a roadside to ensure security ahead of the second round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

An army soldier, left, walks as police officer drives motorcycle on an empty road ahead of second round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Excavators remove rubble from buildings destroyed in Israeli airstrikes on Thursday as rescuers search for victims in the city of Tyre, southern Lebanon, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Displaced people cross a destroyed bridge as they return to their villages, following a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, in Tayr Felsay village, southern Lebanon, Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

BRUSSELS (AP) — More than 60 nations are sending representatives to Brussels to discuss with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Mustafa stability, security and long-term peace in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, as global attention largely remains focused in the Middle East on the ongoing crises in Iran and Lebanon.

Ongoing attacks in the West Bank and continued devastation in Gaza dims the prospect for a two-state solution, said Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot ahead of the meeting Monday. He is co-hosting the meeting with the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas.

“We observe without naivety that the two-state solution is being made more difficult by the day," Prévot said. “But Belgium and many European and Arab partners continue to believe that this remains the only realistic path to a lasting peace, for Israelis, for Palestinians and for the stability of the entire region.”

The 27-nation European Union is the largest single donor to the Palestinian Authority, with its 90-year-old president Mahmoud Abbas ruling from Ramallah for two decades. And while the EU has avoided directly joining the Board of Peace created by United States President Donald Trump, preferring the multilateralism of the United Nations and global legal norms, the bloc is eager to not be sidelined in diplomacy in a volatile region just across the Mediterranean.

Outrage in Europe over the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza drove many EU leaders to condemn Israel’s war conduct and to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. With the recent ouster of long-serving Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a close ally of Netanyahu, there might now be enough political support within the bloc for stronger actions like targeted sanctions on Israeli settlers or even the suspension of some ties to Israel.

Palestinians in the West Bank say that Israel has used the cover of the Iran war to tighten its grip over the territory, as settler attacks surge and the military imposes additional wartime restrictions on movement, citing security.

Gaza requires “one state, one government, one law and one goal," Mustafa said on Monday in Brussels.

“Our common objective of achieving one security structure under the legitimate authority should guide the effective coordination between the International Stabilization Force, the Palestinian Authority, security institutions and other international actors. Security must not be fragmented," he said.

He also called for “the gradual and responsible collection of arms from all armed groups and also the full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.”

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, center, listens as Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, right, speaks during a meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution in Brussels, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, left, listens as Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa speaks during a meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution in Brussels, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

From left, Belgium's Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa and Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide during a meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution in Brussels, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)