President Donald Trump announced “major combat operations” against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.
Following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire, initial U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan earlier this month failed to reach a peace deal. The original ceasefire is set to expire on April 22.
Trump said on Sunday that U.S. negotiators would return to Islamabad on Monday for a new round of talks. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Vice President JD Vance would accompany special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, to Islamabad.
But Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Monday that Tehran has “no plans” to participate.
Latest Developments
Apr 20, 11:37 AM
Trump says ‘unlikely’ he’ll extend ceasefire if deal not reached by deadline
In an interview with Bloomberg on Monday, President Donald Trump said that it is “highly unlikely” that he extends the ceasefire if a deal is not reached before the deadline, which the president said is Wednesday evening ET.
The president also doubled down on his blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, saying, “I’m not opening it up.”
“They want me to open it. The Iranians desperately want it opened. I’m not opening it until a deal is signed,” Trump said, according to Bloomberg.
Aamir Qureshi/AFP via Getty Images – PHOTO: A helicopter flies over the Red Zone area in Islamabad on April 20, 2026, amid heightened security measures ahead of anticipated US-Iran peace talks.
-ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart
Apr 20, 10:45 AM
Trump says Israel ‘never talked’ him into war with Iran
President Donald Trump wrote on social media on Monday that Israel “never talked” him into war with Iran.
Ross D. Franklin/AP – PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks at a Turning Point USA event on April 17, 2026, in Phoenix.
“Israel never talked me into the war with Iran, the results of Oct. 7th, added to my lifelong opinion that IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,” the president wrote.
Trump also said in the post that if Iran’s leadership is “smart, Iran can have a great and prosperous future!”
-ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart
Apr 20, 10:43 AM
US has directed 27 ships to turn around
U.S. forces have directed 27 ships to turn around or return to an Iranian port since the start of the block against vessels entering or exiting Iranian ports and coastal areas, according to CENTCOM.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Apr 20, 7:11 AM
US Embassy Baghdad says Iran-aligned militias still planning attacks
The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad issued a fresh warning to American citizens of the danger posed by Iranian-aligned militias in Iraq, as the country reopened its airspace and some commercial flights resumed.
“Iraq’s Iran-aligned terrorist militias continue planning additional attacks against U.S. citizens and U.S.-associated targets throughout Iraq, including in the Iraqi Kurdistan region,” the Embassy said in a post to X. “Some entities associated with the Iraqi government continue to provide effective political, financial and operational cover to these terrorist militias.”
“Iraq’s airspace has reopened and limited commercial flights have resumed. U.S. citizens considering air travel through Iraq should be aware of the ongoing risks of missiles, drones and projectiles in Iraqi airspace,” the Embassy wrote.
Ahmad Al-rubaye/AFP via Getty Images – PHOTO: Members of Iraq’s pro-Iran paramilitary group Hezbollah Brigades gather in a mourning procession for a fighter in Baghdad on April 8, 2026.
Apr 20, 6:48 AM
Netanyahu ‘stunned’ by photo of soldier destroying Jesus statue
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a statement to social media on Monday addressing the incident in which an Israeli soldier was photographed taking a sledgehammer to the face of a torn down statue of Jesus Christ in southern Lebanon.
Netanyahu said he was “stunned and saddened to learn that an IDF soldier damaged a Catholic religious icon in southern Lebanon.”
“I condemn the act in the strongest terms. Military authorities are conducting a criminal probe of the matter and will take appropriately harsh disciplinary action against the offender,” Netanyahu added.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Victoria Beaule
Apr 20, 6:23 AM
Iran not willing to give up enriched uranium, spokesperson says
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said in a Monday press conference that the transferral of the country’s enriched uranium stockpiles abroad as part of any future peace deal “is not on the Islamic Republic’s agenda.”
Baghaei said Tehran is reviewing a U.S. proposal conveyed by Pakistan’s army chief during a recent visit, but rejected media speculation about the details of the offer.
“The country’s definitive position is to preserve nuclear achievements within Iran’s territory and the claims made in this regard are completely denied,” Baghaei said.
Discussing continued disruption to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, Baghaei also said that the “normalization of traffic is not possible,” citing what he said were “repeated violations of the ceasefire and threats to Iranian ports and ships by the U.S.”
-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian
Apr 20, 4:55 AM
Iran to respond to US ‘aggression’ against cargo vessel, military says
The spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters — the country’s top joint military command — said in a statement on Monday that Iran would respond to the U.S. “aggression” against an Iranian merchant vessel in the Gulf of Oman, Iranian state television reported on Telegram.
Iranian forces will take “necessary action” in response to the American seizure of the M/V Touska on Sunday, the spokesperson said.
-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian
Apr 20, 4:43 AM
China concerned by US seizure of Iranian vessel, official says
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun on Monday expressed concern over the U.S. disabling and seizing the Iran-flagged M/V Touska cargo vessel on Sunday.
Guo said at a press conference that the “relevant parties” should take a “responsible attitude,” while reiterating that the Strait of Hormuz is an “international strait” and that “unimpeded passage” is a “common interest of the international community.”
The Touska’s most recent port may have been Klang, Malaysia, but before that it departed from Zhuhai in southern China.
Centcom/via Reuters – PHOTO: A view of Iranian-flagged cargo ship M/V Touska as the U.S. Navy USS Spruance conducts its interception in a location given as the north Arabian Sea, in this screen capture from a video released on April 19, 2026.
-ABC News’ Karson Yiu
Apr 20, 4:35 AM
Iran has ‘no plans’ for new round of talks, spokesperson says
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Monday that Iran has not yet made any decision regarding a potential new round of peace talks with the U.S. in Islamabad.
“As of now that I am here, we have no plans for the next round of negotiations,” Baghaei said in a press conference, as quoted by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency.
Referring to the possible continuation of talks in Pakistan, Baghaei said, “We have clearly announced the red lines and unacceptable items from the beginning, and insisting on them will not change our principled positions.”
Majid-asgaripour/via Reuters – PHOTO: Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei attends an interview in Tehran, Iran, on April 5, 2026.
Baghaei told reporters that the U.S. and Israel are to blame for the ongoing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.
“The international community must hold these two actors accountable for making the region insecure,” Baghaei said, adding that U.S. conduct “has shown that it is not serious about pursuing the diplomatic process.”
Baghaei cited ongoing Israeli strikes in Lebanon, the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and Sunday’s seizure of an Iranian cargo vessel as “clear examples” of “aggressive acts.”
Baghaei added that the repeated U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran over the past nine months have undermined Tehran’s trust in American diplomacy.
-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian
Apr 20, 3:28 AM
Marines from USS Tripoli seized Iranian vessel, CENTCOM says
U.S. Central Command posted a video of the seizure of the Iran-flagged M/V Touska container ship, which it said was seized by helicopter-borne Marines on Sunday.
CENTCOM said the vessel was first disabled by fire from the guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance after the M/V Touska “failed to comply with repeated warnings from U.S. forces over a six-hour period.”
The Marines that seized the Iranian vessel were operating from the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli, CENTCOM said.
-ABC News’ Camilla Alcini
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