The speaker of Iran’s parliament said there had been “progress” in talks with Washington but that “fundamental” differences remained. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump dismissed what he called “blackmail” from Tehran after it once again closed the Strait of Hormuz. “We are still far from a final discussion,” said Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who is also Iran’s chief negotiator, in a televised speech early on April 19. “We have made progress in negotiations, but there are many gaps and some fundamental points remain,” he added, referring to the first round of face-to-face talks in Islamabad on April 11-12. “There are some issues on which we insist… They also have their red lines. But these issues may only be one or two,” he said, also expressing hardline stances, claiming that Iran has been “winning on the ground” during the war. The fate of renewed face-to-face meetings between Washington, Tehran, and Pakistani mediators appeared uncertain. Trump mentioned progress on April 17 and said negotiations would continue over the weekend. “We will talk about Iran later. We have very good talks underway,” Trump said. However, amid speculation that the parties might meet again on April 20 in Islamabad, no new date has been announced yet. Iran’s top national security body said on April 18 that Tehran was reviewing “new proposals” from the United States, delivered through Pakistani army chief Asim Munir, but had not yet responded. The Supreme National Security Council emphasized that Iran’s negotiating team “will not make even the slightest compromise, concession, or softening,” and will defend national interests “with all its strength.” These statements come days before the expiration of a two-week truce between U.S., Israeli, and Iranian forces, which ends on April 22. Hopes that maritime traffic would resume through the strait were short-lived on April 18, as Iranian forces attacked at least three civilian ships after Tehran announced it was withdrawing its decision to reopen the route. Speaking in Washington, U.S. President Donald Trump said: “They got a little cheeky… They wanted to close the strait again, you know, as they have done for years. And they cannot blackmail us.” A maritime security monitor detailed three attacks, the first such incidents since the start of the two-week truce on April 8. In the first incident, two armed vessels of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired without warning at a tanker, the monitor said. Later, it said a container ship was “hit by a shell,” while there was a near-miss in an attack on a third vessel. Two of the ships were flying the Indian flag, prompting India to summon the Iranian ambassador in protest. Following the latest incidents, IRGC naval forces warned late on April 18 that any ship approaching the Strait of Hormuz would be treated as a target. “We warn that no ship, of any type, should leave its anchorage in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. Any attempt to approach the Strait of Hormuz will be considered cooperation with the enemy, and the violating ship will be a target,” its official news website stated. Qalibaf—whom many observers say is the real power behind the Iranian regime—had posted a harsh message on social media on April 17, accusing Trump of telling “lies,” and saying that as long as the American blockade of Iranian ports remains in effect, “the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open.”