Iran Wavers on Peace Talks

“Iran wavered on whether to send diplomats to Pakistan for a second round of peace talks after the US maintained a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and seized an Iranian ship, dimming hopes of a breakthrough in efforts to end the war,” Bloomberg reports.

“Tehran has no plans to attend the potential negotiations though a final decision hasn’t been made, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told reporters on Monday.”

Playbook: “Once again, Tehran is flexing its muscles, just as it did over the weekend with the abrupt reclosure of the strait, only hours after Trump said it had reopened. This is a regime that clearly believes it is holding powerful cards. Trump, by contrast, continues to oscillate between threats of mass violence and claims of an imminent breakthrough.”