A woman mourns her relative Ali Ballout, a civil defence member killed during the conflict with Israel and exhumed from a temporary grave, during his funeral in his home village, amid a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, in Aitit village, southern Lebanon, April 22. Reuters-Yonhap

A second round of talks between Israel and Lebanon was set to start Thursday in Washington, while the prospects of Iran-U.S. talks in Pakistan seemed dubious as the Islamic Republic accused the Americans of a “lack of good faith” in negotiations.

Iran fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz and seized two of them Wednesday, intensifying its assault on shipping in the key waterway, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire while maintaining a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

The standoff between the U.S. and Iran has effectively choked off nearly all exports through the strait , where 20 percent of the world’s traded oil passes in peacetime, with no end in sight.

Pakistan had planned to host another round of talks, but the White House suspended U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s planned trip to Islamabad as Iran rebuffed efforts to restart the discussions.

In southern Lebanon, three separate Israeli strikes killed at least six people and wounded others, according to local authorities. Israel denied carrying out one of the strikes and did not immediately comment on the others.

The attacks came as Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors prepared for a new meeting in Washington toward extending a fragile 10-day ceasefire that began last week.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, center, shakes hands with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, third from right, as Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, left, Pakistan's Chief of Defence Forces Chief of Army Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir, center right, and Charge d'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad Natalie A. Baker, second from right, look on, as he prepares to board Air Force Two after attending talks on Iran in Islamabad, April 12. AFP-Yonhap

Pakistan interior minister meets US official

Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said in a statement Thursday he hoped for “positive progress” from Iran after a meeting with U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker.

Source: Korea Times News