AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Another issue President Trump is dealing with is the war with Iran. The prospect of new ceasefire talks over the weekend between the U.S. and Iran collapsed as Iran's foreign minister left Pakistan to consult with allies, and President Trump called off a trip by U.S. officials who were supposed to go to the negotiations. NPR's Jane Arraf joins us now from Amman, Jordan. Good morning.
JANE ARRAF, BYLINE: Good morning.
RASCOE: So President Trump's Middle East envoy and his son-in-law were on their way to the talks in Islamabad, but Trump canceled the trip. What happened?
ARRAF: Well, it seems that diplomacy did take place, just not between the U.S. and Iran. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, was in Pakistan Saturday. He consulted with Pakistani officials, and then he left for Oman, which had held previous negotiations. He's due back in Islamabad today, but Trump, after Araghchi left Pakistan, called off the trip by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. He said they're not just going to go sit around talking about nothing. The Iranian media close to the Iran Revolutionary Guard said Iran's president told the Pakistani prime minister that the U.S. needs to remove operational obstacles, including the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. blockade, to restart those talks. Now, Araghchi, who is meeting with negotiators who went back to Tehran and is - are going back to Islamabad, is meeting them there again today. But he told Pakistani officials that Iran has yet to see if the U.S. is truly serious about diplomacy.
RASCOE: The Strait of Hormuz is a flashpoint in this war. What do we know about where things stand right now?
ARRAF: Well, Iran has been tightening its control over the waterway, closing it off to U.S. and Israeli-linked vessels and charging some vessels tolls to raise revenue. And the U.S., as you know, in response, has sent warships to try to prevent vessels from reaching Iranian ports. They've also seized some sanctioned ships and diverted others. Iran also seized at least two vessels last week. Iran's English-language state TV sent a correspondent to board one of them. Let's listen to a bit of that.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: In the Strait of Hormuz within the waters of the Persian Gulf, a vessel has been seized by the armed forces of the Islamic republic of Iran.
ARRAF: And the correspondent is seen boarding this huge ship. There's no crew in sight. He says the vessel relied on baseless remarks of the U.S. president and attempted to violate international law and Iran's territorial integrity.
RASCOE: So who actually has the right to control the Strait of Hormuz?
ARRAF: Yeah, that's a bit tricky. It's a very narrow strait, considered territorial waters of Iran and Oman. So it's not international waters, but under a U.N. convention on the Law of the Sea, it's considered an international strait. And that convention obligates Iran not to impede navigation. But the thing is, neither Iran nor the U.S. have ratified that convention. The U.S. blockade against Iranian ports and coastal areas isn't backed by any international law.
RASCOE: Meanwhile, there's a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, and it was extended after talks at the White House on Friday. What do we know about that?
ARRAF: Well, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday ordered the military to vigorously attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. They've been targeting villages in the south, and they say they're targeting Hezbollah, but they have killed many civilians and destroyed civilian infrastructure. Hezbollah said in response to attacks that it has targeted Israeli soldiers in Lebanese border towns. It says there were casualties. Israel hasn't commented on that yet.
RASCOE: That's NPR's Jane Arraf. Thank you so much.
ARRAF: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE ROB CROSS' "WE LEARN") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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