The news closely followed an announcement from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran that it had detained a tanker, which it claimed had been smuggling fuel.

While the two episodes escalate the conflict that has pitted Iran against some of its neighbors and the U.S., Iran’s foreign minister moved in the opposite direction, proposing modest concessions and new talks.

Reminder: Tensions between Iran and the U.S. have risen in recent months after Washington imposed new sanctions.

Since then, there have been attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran has exceeded the amount and the purity of the uranium it is permitted under the 2015 nuclear agreement.