US President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that US Marines took custody of a vessel that tried to get past the American blockade on Iranian ports, adding that US forces stopped the ship by blowing a hole in its engine room.
"Today, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship named TOUSKA, nearly 900 feet long and weighing almost as much as an aircraft carrier, tried to get past our Naval Blockade, and it did not go well for them," he wrote.
Adding: "The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom. Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel."
Mr Trump earlier accused Iran of a "total violation" of the two countries' ceasefire for firing on ships near the Strait of Hormuz, and renewed a threat to wipe out Iran's bridges and power plants unless it accepted his terms.
Iran rejected new peace talks with the United States, its state news agency reported, hours after Mr Trump had said he was sending envoys to Pakistan for talks and would strike Iran unless it accepted his terms.
"Iran stated that its absence from the second round of talks stems from what it called Washington's excessive demands, unrealistic expectations, constant shifts in stance, repeated contradictions, and the ongoing naval blockade, which it considers a breach of the ceasefire," Iran's official IRNA news agency wrote.
The United States has kept a blockade of Iranian ports in place, while Iran has lifted and then reimposed its own blockade of marine traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which before the war began almost two months ago handled roughly one-fifth of the world's oil supply.
A White House official had said the US delegation would be headed by Vice President JD Vance, who led the war's first peace talks a week ago, and also include Mr Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner.
The US president had separately told ABC News and MS Now that Mr Vance would not go.
The apparent diplomatic setback could set the stage for a renewed surge in oil prices when markets reopen after the weekend.
Now in its eighth week, the war has created the most severe shock to global energy supplies in history, sending oil prices surging because of the de facto closure of the strait.
Thousands of people have been killed by US-Israeli strikes on Iran and in an Israeli invasion of Lebanon conducted in parallel since the war began on 28 February.
Iran responded to the attacks with missiles and drones against its Arab neighbours that host US bases.
Iran's chief negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, had earlier said the two sides had made progress but were still far apart on nuclear issues and the strait.
Pakistan has served as the main mediator, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke by phone with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Sharif's office said Mr Pezeshkian had thanked Pakistan for its mediation efforts, in a readout of the call that made no mention of Iran rejecting the next round of talks.
European allies, repeatedly slammed by Mr Trump for not aiding his war effort, worry that Washington's inexperienced US negotiating team is pushing for a swift, superficial deal that would grab headlines but leave months or years of technically complex follow‑on talks.
Pressure mounts on Trump to find way out of war
Mr Trump also renewed his threat to hit Iran's power plants and bridges, continuing a pattern of such warnings throughout the war.
He abruptly announced the ceasefire two weeks ago, just hours after declaring that Iran's "whole civilisation will die tonight".
Iran has said that if the United States were to attack its civilian infrastructure it would hit power stations and desalination plants of Gulf Arab neighbours.
Pressure for a way out of the war has mounted on Mr Trump as his fellow Republicans prepare to defend narrow majorities in Congress in the November midterm elections, with US gasoline prices high, inflation rising and his own approval ratings down.
Pakistan appeared to be preparing for new talks.
Two giant US C-17 cargo planes landed at an air base on this afternoon, carrying security equipment and vehicles in preparation for the US delegation's arrival, two Pakistani security sources said.
Municipal authorities in the capital city of Islamabad halted public transport and heavy-goods traffic through the city.
Barbed wire was rolled out near the Serena Hotel, where last week's talks were held. The hotel told all guests to leave.
Israeli military publishes map of south Lebanon territory under its control
The Israeli military published for the first time a map of its new deployment line inside Lebanon, bringing dozens of mostly abandoned Lebanese villages under its control, days after a ceasefire with Hezbollah took effect.
There was no immediate comment from Lebanese officials or from Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Israel and Lebanon agreed on Thursday to a US-backed ceasefire in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
The deal, which followed the first direct talks in decades between Israel and Lebanon on 14 April, is meant to enable broader US-Iran negotiations but with Israeli forces maintaining positions deep inside southern Lebanon.
Stretching east to west, the deployment line on the map runs 5-10 km deep from the border into Lebanese territory, where Israel has said that it plans to create a so-called buffer zone.
Israeli forces have destroyed Lebanese villages in the area, saying their aim is to protect northern Israeli towns from Hezbollah attacks.
It has created buffer zones in Syria and in Gaza, where it controls more than half the enclave.
