US seizes Iranian ship trying to pass naval blockade as Tehran rejects second round of talks

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US forces seized the vessel earlier on Sunday after it tried to get through the blockade around Iranian ports, Mr Trump said on Truth Social.

The US president said: "The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room."

"We have full custody of the ship, and are seeing what’s on board!" he added.

It comes as Iran’s state media denied reports that Tehran will take part in a second round of talks with the US, despite Donald Trump saying direct negotiations would be held in Pakistan on Monday.

Read more: 'NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!' says Trump, after claims Iran fired on UK freighter in the Strait of Hormuz

Read more: Attacks on peacekeepers in Lebanon must stop says UN chief

According to the IRNA news agency, Tehran said reports of fresh talks were “not true”, blaming what it described as Washington’s “excessive demands”, unrealistic expectations, repeated contradictions and the continuing naval blockade.

The developments come after Mr Trump said a new round of "negotiations" would take place.

US vice president JD Vance is among the delegation due to arrive in Islamabad tomorrow, according to a White House official.

The claims followed reports of vessels being fired at in the Strait of Hormuz, which was closed again on Saturday amid the stand-off

On Sunday, Trump suggested vessels from the UK and France had come under fire in the vital waterway.

He wrote on Truth Social: "Iran decided to fire bullets yesterday in the Strait of Hormuz — A Total Violation of our Ceasefire Agreement!

"Many of them were aimed at a French Ship, and a Freighter from the United Kingdom. That wasn’t nice, was it?"

However, the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre confirmed on Sunday that there had been no new attacks or suspicious incidents in the Strait of Hormuz over the previous 24 hours.

India's government also summoned the Iranian ambassador for a meeting after it said two of its vessels were fired at in the Strait.

Mr Trump continued on Sunday: "Iran recently announced that they were closing the Strait, which is strange, because our BLOCKADE has already closed it.

"They’re helping us without knowing, and they are the ones that lose with the closed passage, $500 Million Dollars a day! The United States loses nothing."

The President added that "many ships" were headed to the US to "load up" despite the issues with the Strait.

"We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they [Iran] take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran. NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!

"They’ll come down fast, they’ll come down easy and, if they don’t take the DEAL, it will be my Honor [sic] to do what has to be done, which should have been done to Iran, by other Presidents, for the last 47 years. IT’S TIME FOR THE IRAN KILLING MACHINE TO END!"

The post comes after Iran’s top negotiator and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf gave an interview to state media ahead earlier this weekend.

He said “progress has been made” and both sides had a “more realistic understanding of each other”, but noted that “the gaps remain significant” between the two powers.

Mr Ghalibaf also accused US President Donald Trump of lying, saying Iran has not given up nuclear enrichment, and would not hand over the so called “nuclear dust”.

He added that nuclear issues and Strait of Hormuz remained central issues.

The speech follows a statement from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) saying that control of the Strait of Hormuz has now “returned to its previous state” because of the US’s continuing blockade of Iranian ports.

The IRGC Navy has now said that the vital waterway will stay closed until the US blockade is lifted, according to Iranian state media.

Iran’s IRIB broadcaster shared an IRGC statement that said the United States has “continued acts of piracy and maritime theft under the guise of a so-called blockade."

"For this reason, control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state, and this strategic waterway is now under strict management and control by the armed forces,” it said.

Meanwhile, Axios, citing a US official, has reported that there have been at least three attacks on ships in the strait since the re-closure.

At least one ship was hit and suffered some damage, but there were no reports of injuries, the official said.

Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, issued a written statement warning his country's “enemies” that the Iranian navy is ready to make them “taste the bitterness of new defeats”.

Meanwhile, Iran's leadership has repeated its claim that ships must pay to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

According to a statement from the national security council, shared by the Iranian state Fars news agency, Iran said it is determined to exercise supervision and control over traffic through the strait "until the war is definitively ended" and a lasting peace is achieved in the region.

It added that this would be achieved by receiving complete information from passing vessels, issuing a certificate of passage and "paying the costs related to security, safety, and environmental protection services".

Previously, US President Donald Trump rejected the prospect of ships paying to pass through the strait.

Trump later addressed the closure during a press conference on Saturday, saying, "It's working out very well".

"They got a little cute as they have been doing for 47 years," he said.

He also reiterated claims that the US had mostly eliminated the country's navy, air force and leadership.

"They wanted to close up the strait again as they have been doing for years, they can't blackmail us.

"We'll have some information by the end of the day. We're talking to them, we're taking a tough stand."

But Iran's deputy foreign minister has said there will be no further in-person peace talks with the US until it changes its "maximalist" demands.

Speaking at a diplomacy forum in Turkey, Saeed Khatibzadeh said Iran was seeking the finalisation of a "framework agreement" before moving to another meeting.

"We are still not there yet to move on to an actual meeting because there are issues that the Americans have not yet abandoned their maximalist position".