The US seizure of an Iranian ship threatens global stability. What the media is writing

After the US military seized an Iranian cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman, Tehran announced the breakdown of the ceasefire by Washington. Meanwhile, the United States continues to prepare for a new round, and panic reigns in the markets again due to doubts about the possibility of a quick settlement of the conflict. What the foreign press writes about this is in the Izvestia article.

Bloomberg: oil is rising amid the breakdown of peace talks between the United States and Iran

The fate of the peace talks remains uncertain, as the United States and Iran are making contradictory statements about the next stage of the conflict settlement, and the ceasefire is set to expire in the coming days. Tensions rose when the US Navy opened fire and boarded an Iranian cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman, the first seizure of a vessel in the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

It is also unclear whether a meeting of U.S. and Iranian officials will take place in Islamabad. US President Donald Trump said he sees a chance for a deal, but Iran has denied this claim and its very participation. Tehran has promised a tough response to the detention of its vessel and has already introduced new rules for charging fees for passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian parliament is working on the adoption of a law on the management of the strait, which will include a ban on the passage of ships associated with Israel, as well as the need for permission from the Supreme National Security Council for the passage of ships from "hostile countries."

Crisis direction: how the United States and Iran approach the second round of negotiations

The truce is about to expire, and the situation around the Strait of Hormuz is getting more complicated every day.

Le Monde: the Iranian military promised to strike at American piracy

US President Donald Trump wrote on the Truth Social network that the Iranian vessel Touska ignored the demand to stop, and the guided missile destroyer USS Spruance "stopped them on the spot by making a hole in the engine room." According to him, the ship remains under the control of the US military, who are studying what is on board.

The incident occurred amid tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy transportation channel that has remained virtually shut down since the beginning of the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran. Trump said that the Touska vessel is under US sanctions "due to previous illegal activities." According to the latest data available on the Marine Traffic website, about six hours before Trump's statement, the Touska vessel was located 45 kilometers (28 miles) off the southern coast of Iran, near the city of Chabahar.

The Guardian: Tehran does not intend to participate in peace talks in Pakistan

Iran has no plans to participate in negotiations with the United States. The statement was made on Sunday evening, April 19. Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced the seizure of an Iranian cargo ship trying to circumvent the American blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. According to the Iranian military, the ship was sailing from China. Iran has promised to strike at American "armed piracy." Iran's position threatens a new stage of negotiations on ending the war, which was being prepared in Pakistan.

Iran has stated that its absence from the negotiating table is due to unrealistic expectations of the United States and the maintenance of the naval blockade, which Tehran regards as a violation of the ceasefire. Trump claims that negotiations in Islamabad before the ceasefire expires will be the "last chance" for Tehran: if the deal is not accepted, he promised to disable all power plants and bridges in Iran.

Reuters: Peace in the Middle East is under threat due to excessive US demands

The United States maintains a blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran has alternately blocked and resumed maritime navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, where one fifth of the world's oil supplies pass. The US military said on Sunday, April 19, that after a six-hour standoff, they opened fire on an Iranian cargo ship bound for the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas and disabled its engines. Iran has promised to respond to US "piracy".

The speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who is leading the Iranian side in the negotiations, said earlier that both sides have made progress, but are still far from each other on nuclear issues and the issue of the strait. European allies fear that the United States is seeking a superficial, quick deal, and further negotiations will take months and years. The war, which has been going on for the eighth week, has dealt the most serious blow to global energy reserves in history, causing a sharp rise in oil prices due to the de facto closure of the strait.

The New York Times: The crisis that has hit Asia may spread to the whole world

Asia expected serious consequences from the loss of access to Middle Eastern oil and gas as a result of the war in Iran. But the economic and social consequences have hit the region harder and faster than officials and experts expected. Many countries across the Asia-Pacific region are experiencing supply disruptions that they are struggling to cope with, with some comparing the scale of the crisis to the Covid pandemic.

Fuel shortages are isolating the region: Shukor Yusof of Endau Analytics, a consulting firm in Singapore, estimates that air traffic to Asia and the Pacific has already fallen by a third. Asian export industries suffered as a result of the conflict: the production of Indonesian nickel processors decreased by 10%, and the cost of raw materials for the production of polyester and nylon doubled. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world's largest manufacturer of high-quality chips that has received helium from Qatar and the United States, said it had reserves to avoid short-term exposure, but shortages could force the company to seek supplies of helium from Russia.