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US President Donald Trump said that the US military has begun a blockade of all Iranian ports and coastal areas and Iran responded with threats on ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Trump had vowed earlier to block the Strait of Hormuz entirely. Trump later suggested he was willing to engage with Iran, saying he had spoken to "the other side." This came after he warned on social media that Iranian warships coming "anywhere close" to the US blockade would be destroyed. Ceasefire talks between the US and Iran ended Sunday without an agreement, raising questions about what happens when the current two-week truce expires on April 22. The Israeli military, meanwhile, pushed ahead with its offensive in southern Lebanon, engaging in fierce fighting with Hezbollah militants over a strategic town, while the group fires rockets and drones at northern Israel. Negotiations made 'some progress': Vance US Vice President JD Vance said in an interview with Fox News Channel's "Special Report" that negotiations "did make some progress" in the Islamabad talks on the US insistence on the removal of nuclear material from Iran as well as a mechanism to ensure uranium cannot be enriched in the future. "They moved in our direction," Vance said in the interview. He said he thought Iranian negotiators were "unable to cut a deal" and needed to get approval from others in Tehran. Vance also said that US negotiators made clear that Trump "would be very happy if Iran was treated like a normal country, if it had a normal economy," but he did not go into details about what he meant. "There really is, I think, a grand deal to be had here. But, it's up to the Iranians, I think, to take the next step," Vance said. The White House was not responsive to queries about whether new talks were being weighed. "President Trump, Vice President Vance and the negotiating team have made the US red lines very clear. The Iranians desperation for a deal will only increase with President Trump's highly effective Naval blockade now in effect," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. The sides are weighing new in-person negotiations in a bid to reach a deal aimed at ending their six-week war before the ceasefire expires next week, two US officials and person familiar with the development said. The three said discussions were still underway about a new round of talks, while a diplomat from one of the mediating countries went further to say Tehran and Washington have agreed to it. All four spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic negotiations. It's unclear if the same level of delegation would be expected to attend, the diplomat and US officials said.
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