- Peace talks between Iran and the US in Pakistan face uncertainty after US seized Iranian vessel
- The two-week ceasefire expires Wednesday with low chances of extension, says President Trump
- Iran rejects negotiations under threats and hints at new battlefield strategies if war resumes
The future of the second round of peace talks between Iran and the United States, planned to take place this week in Pakistan, remains uncertain after officials in Tehran threatened not to attend after the US seized an Iranian-flagged vessel near the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend. The two-week ceasefire between Tehran and Washington is set to expire on Wednesday, with US President Donald Trump saying it's highly unlikely that it will be extended.
Iran has, meanwhile, said that by imposing a blockade and violating the ceasefire, Trump seeks to turn the negotiating table into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering.
"We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and in the past two weeks, we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield," Iran's powerful parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is Iran's top negotiator in talks with the United States, wrote in a post on X.
Ghalibaf also threatened that Tehran had "new cards" if war resumes with the United States and Israel. "We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and in the last two weeks we have been preparing to show new cards on the battlefield," he wrote on X.
The Hormuz Problem
While both the US and Iran have expressed hope of negotiating an end to the war, they have continued to escalate a standoff in and around the Hormuz Strait, the critical water passage that has emerged as a central issue in peace talks.
What the US Said
The Trump administration has said the US delegation would attend peace talks in Pakistan this week. The US president initially said talks in Islamabad would occur on Tuesday, but that date could be pushed back. Washington is again sending its team lead by Vice President JD Vance for the talks, which also include Trump's Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
However, amid the uncertainty over talks, Trump has issued a stark warning, declaring that if the fragile two-week ceasefire with Iran expires without a breakthrough, "then lots of bombs start going off."
Speaking to PBS News, Trump was asked what would happen if the ceasefire expires. "Then lots of bombs start going off," he said.
"I mean, they're supposed to be there. We agreed to be there, although they say we didn't. But no, it was set up. And we'll see whether or not it's there. If they're not there, that's fine too," he added.
The Contentions
An Iranian official, speaking on condition of anonymity with The Washington Post, said the tone of Trump's public statements and the ongoing US blockade were the two most serious issues threatening talks.
They claimed the two sides largely agreed on the outlines of a deal, but Trump's public "maximalism" risked scuttling the diplomatic progress.
Mediators in Pakistan have also reportedly conveyed similar messages to the Trump administration, warning against strong public rhetoric. They also encouraged the US president to allow the narrative that talks in Islamabad were a "win-win" for Iran and the United States, a Pakistani official told The Post.
