U.S.-Iran peace talks still in limbo after Iran seizes ships in the Strait of Hormuz

U.S.-Iran peace talks still in limbo after Iran seizes ships in the Strait of Hormuz April 23, 20267:30 AM ET By  NPR Staff Ships are anchored near the shoreline on April 22, 2026 in Bandar Abbas, Iran. Bandar Abbas is a port city and the capital of Hormozgan Province, along the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz. Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Getty Images U.S.-Iran peace talks remained in limbo Thursday, a day after Iran seized two commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, with no signs the two sides were close to resuming negotiations. Middle East conflict Iranians are leaving the country just to access the internet President Trump said on social media Tuesday he was extending the ceasefire indefinitely, hours before it was set to expire. He told Fox News on Wednesday that there was "no time pressure" either on the truce or setting a new date for talks. Iran dismissed Trump's extension as "meaningless" and said it would not return to negotiations unless the United States lifted its naval blockade on Iranian ports. The U.S. Central Command said it has directed 31 vessels to change course since imposing its blockade earlier this month. Sponsor Message Oil was again trading at over $100 a barrel Thursday as the impasse continued to disrupt shipping through the strait, a chokepoint for roughly a fifth of the world's crude oil and natural gas. Hours after Trump's announcement, Iran attacked three commercial vessels in the narrow waterway and seized two of them, further tightening its grip on one of the world's most important shipping lanes. Lebanon, meanwhile, is set to pursue an extension of its U.S.-brokered ceasefire with Israel during a second round of talks in Washington on Thursday. The talks come a day after Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed at least five people, including a Lebanese journalist. The latest regional turmoil coincided with a shakeup at the Pentagon, where U.S. Navy Secretary John Phelan was dismissed following months of ten...