Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday condemned the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports as “an act of war and thus a violation of the ceasefire.” The denunciation, published on social media and in a letter to the United Nations, came as President Trump extended the ceasefire indefinitely while keeping the blockade in place.
“Iran knows how to neutralize restrictions, how to defend its interests, and how to resist bullying,” Araghchi wrote in his social media post Tuesday. He called the U.S. seizure of an Iranian cargo ship in the Arabian Sea over the weekend “an even greater violation” of the ceasefire terms.
The Iranian mission to the United Nations shared a letter on X characterizing the blockade as “a grave breach of international law, a clear violation of the ceasefire, and an act of aggression marked by the hallmarks of piracy.” The escalating rhetoric comes as Tehran has yet to confirm whether it will send a delegation to the next round of talks in Islamabad.
Araghchi is part of Iran’s civilian negotiating team, which reportedly favors continued diplomacy despite hardline opposition from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The gap between the civilian diplomatic track and the IRGC military track is believed to be part of what Trump described as Iran’s “seriously fractured” government in announcing the ceasefire extension.
For Tehran, the key demands for any deal include ending the U.S. naval blockade, access to $6 billion in frozen assets, and guarantees that Israel-Hezbollah fighting will not resume. The blockade has forced 28 ships to turn back since it began and remains the most concrete pressure point in U.S. leverage over Iran.