<p>Uncertainty clouded prospects for a new round of US-Iran peace talks Tuesday, before the scheduled end of a two-week ceasefire between the two countries, as Iran denounced US threats and the seizure of an Iranian cargo ship.</p><p>Vice President JD Vance was expected to leave for Pakistan on Tuesday, two US officials said, just over a week after a round of talks there with Iran’s lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, ended without a deal.</p>.What to know about the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire.<p>Iran has not publicly confirmed its participation in more talks, and Ghalibaf said Monday that Iran would not attend under “the shadow of threats” — an apparent reference to President Donald Trump’s vow to target Iranian power plants and civilian infrastructure if a deal isn’t reached.</p><p>In private, however, two senior Iranian officials said an Iranian delegation was making plans to travel to Pakistan on Tuesday and to resume talks. The Iranian officials said Ghalibaf would attend negotiations with the United States if Vance were there.</p>.Iran will respond decisively to any renewed hostile action, senior commander says.<p>Pakistan’s government said it was deploying thousands of security officers in Islamabad, the capital, to ensure negotiators’ safety. The Serena hotel, which hosted the first round of discussions, has been cleared of other clients.</p><p>Even if the sides return to the negotiating table, many sticking points remain — on Iran’s nuclear program, for instance, or on the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic conduit for oil and gas. The threat of Iranian attacks has throttled shipping traffic through the strait, prompting the United States to impose a blockade of Iranian ports that the U.S. Navy says has forced 27 ships to turn around.</p>
<p>Uncertainty clouded prospects for a new round of US-Iran peace talks Tuesday, before the scheduled end of a two-week ceasefire between the two countries, as Iran denounced US threats and the seizure of an Iranian cargo ship.</p><p>Vice President JD Vance was expected to leave for Pakistan on Tuesday, two US officials said, just over a week after a round of talks there with Iran’s lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, ended without a deal.</p>.What to know about the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire.<p>Iran has not publicly confirmed its participation in more talks, and Ghalibaf said Monday that Iran would not attend under “the shadow of threats” — an apparent reference to President Donald Trump’s vow to target Iranian power plants and civilian infrastructure if a deal isn’t reached.</p><p>In private, however, two senior Iranian officials said an Iranian delegation was making plans to travel to Pakistan on Tuesday and to resume talks. The Iranian officials said Ghalibaf would attend negotiations with the United States if Vance were there.</p>.Iran will respond decisively to any renewed hostile action, senior commander says.<p>Pakistan’s government said it was deploying thousands of security officers in Islamabad, the capital, to ensure negotiators’ safety. The Serena hotel, which hosted the first round of discussions, has been cleared of other clients.</p><p>Even if the sides return to the negotiating table, many sticking points remain — on Iran’s nuclear program, for instance, or on the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic conduit for oil and gas. The threat of Iranian attacks has throttled shipping traffic through the strait, prompting the United States to impose a blockade of Iranian ports that the U.S. Navy says has forced 27 ships to turn around.</p>