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Iranian official said Tehran was considering joining. But with the final hours of a two-week truce ticking by, there was little time left.
However, there was confusion regarding when the two-week ceasefire, which came into effect on April 8, would end.
Iranian state TV said it would expire at 3:30 am Wednesday, Tehran time (0000 GMT Tuesday).
The timing is consistent with when the 14-day truce went into effect, though US President Donald Trump recently said it would end a day later, on Wednesday evening Washington time.
Mediator Pakistan had said earlier in the day that the ceasefire would expire at 2350 GMT on Tuesday.
Asked about the possibility of extending the truce, Trump told CNBC: “I don’t want to do that. We don’t have that much time.”
“I expect to be bombing because I think that’s a better attitude to go in with,” he added. “But we’re ready to go. I mean, the military is raring to go.”
Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said: “We do not want to be attacked again, but if such attacks occur, we will definitely respond more firmly than before,” according to the state news agency IRNA.
Late yesterday, Pakistani Minister of Information Attaullah Tarar said Iran’s formal response on whether it will attend the next round of talks with the US in Islamabad is “still awaited”.
Earlier yesterday, Pakistan urged both the US and Iran to extend their ceasefire.
Though Trump yesterday upped his threat through a series of TV interviews and social media posts, there was no statement issued from the Iranian leadership.
Early today, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reacted, saying “blockading Iranian ports is an act of war and thus a violation of the ceasefire” in a reference to the ongoing US naval blockade around the Strait of Hormuz.
“Striking a commercial vessel and taking its crew hostage is an even greater violation. Iran knows how to neutralise restrictions, how to defend its interests, and how to resist bullying,” he wrote on X.
Earlier, the US military said it had boarded the Tifani tanker linked to Iran “without incident”. The vessel last reported its position yesterday morning as near Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean, according to MarineTraffic tracking data. It was close to fully loaded with 2 million barrels of crude and had signalled Singapore as its destination.
“As we have made clear, we will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran -- anywhere they operate,” US Central Command said.
The US president told CNBC that US forces on Monday intercepted a ship carrying a “gift” to Iran from China as Tehran tries to restock its military during a ceasefire period.
The ship had “a gift from China” which “wasn’t very nice,” Trump told CNBC. “I was a little surprised,” he added, saying he thought he had an “understanding” with China’s President Xi Jinping.
A week ago, Trump announced that Xi had assured him there would be no Chinese weapons deliveries to Iran, a close partner with Beijing for years.
On social media, Trump also said Iran had carried out numerous violations of the ceasefire, without giving further details. He told CNBC that the blockade had been a success and the US was in a strong position to end up with a “great deal”.
Iran has largely blocked off the Strait of Hormuz since the conflict began on February 28. It had announced last week that it would reopen the strait, but reversed that decision on Saturday after Trump refused to lift his blockade of Iranian ports.
That has left the strait closed and the world deprived of the 20 million barrels of oil that typically crossed it each day.
Meanwhile, International Energy Agency (IEA) head Fatih Birol yesterday said the ongoing conflict has triggered the world’s worst-ever energy crisis.
“The crisis is already huge, if you combine the effects of the petrol crisis and the gas crisis with Russia,” Birol told France Inter radio. “This is indeed the biggest crisis in history.”
Pakistani officials said that if the delegations do attend talks, they will not arrive until today.
US Vice President JD Vance, who was expected to start for Pakistan on Tuesday morning for talks, was still in Washington midday to participate in meetings, the White House said.
“Additional policy meetings are taking place at the White House in which the vice president will participate,” an official said in a brief statement sent to AFP shortly after 1700 GMT.
A first session of talks 10 days ago produced no agreement, and Tehran had been ruling out a second round after the US refused to end its blockade. Trump has threatened to attack Iran’s civilian infrastructure if no deal is made.
Still, a Pakistani source involved in the discussions told Reuters there was momentum for talks to resume.
An Iranian official said on Monday that Tehran was “positively reviewing” its participation, but stressed that it was waiting to see if its conditions would be met, including recognition of its right to enrich uranium.
Oil prices climbed about 5 percent yesterday after Trump said he did not want to extend the ceasefire. Brent futures LCOc1 rose $4.30, or 4.5 percent, to $99.78 a barrel at 1:13pm EDT (1713 GMT), while US West Texas Intermediate CLc1 crude rose $4.75, or 5.3 percent, to $94.36.
Trump wants an agreement that would prevent further oil price rises and stock market shocks, but has insisted Iran cannot have the means to develop a nuclear weapon. He wants Iran to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which can, if further enriched, be used for a nuclear warhead.
Tehran hopes to exploit its control of the strait to strike a deal that averts a restart of the war and lifts sanctions, while retaining more of its nuclear programme, which it says is for peaceful purposes.
A Pakistani source involved in mediating between the warring parties said that the expected second round of talks could result in the signing of a memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire. It would then be followed by a comprehensive deal within 60 days.