US President Donald Trump on Monday said he was in no rush to end the war against Iran while expressing confidence in further negotiations with Tehran in Pakistan, giving mixed signals about the future course of action.
In telephonic interviews and social media posts ahead of the Wednesday expiry of the 14-day ceasefire, Trump warned that “lots of bombs” will “start going off” if the two warring countries do not reach an agreement before the ceasefire deadline.
Trump’s negotiation team, led by Vice President JD Vance, he said, would be sent to Pakistan capital Islamabad for a second round of talks, even as Iran insisted it would not take part until Trump dialed back his demands.
Iran's chief negotiator and parliament speaker, Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf, accused the US of wanting Iran to surrender. On the contrary, Iran has been preparing "to reveal new cards” on the battlefield, he added.
"We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats," Qalibaf wrote in a post on X early Tuesday.
Trump insisted he feels no pressure to end the war until Iran agrees to his terms.
"I am under no pressure whatsoever," Trump said on his Truth Social platform. "Although, it will all happen, relatively quickly."
Meanwhile, Pakistani officials moved ahead with preparations for a new round of talks between the US and Iran amid renewed conflict around the Strait of Hormuz.
The US was "highly unlikely" to renew the ceasefire, Trump told Bloomberg News.
The United States seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to run its blockade, it said Sunday, prompting a warning from Tehran that it would retaliate.
Efforts to build a more lasting peace in the region likewise appeared to be on shaky ground, as Iran said it would not participate in a second round of negotiations that the US had hoped to kick off before the ceasefire expires on Tuesday.
The US actions are "incompatible with the claim of diplomacy," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Monday in a social media post.
He gave no indication what Iran will do after the ceasefire expires or whether Iran will return to a second round of negotiations with the US
Iran has throttled traffic through Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the open seas, since shortly after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28 to start the war. The U.S. has also instituted a blockade of Iranian ports. Roughly one-fifth of the world's oil trade normally passes through the strait.
Meanwhile, the US president lashed out at war critics at home who are urging him to wrap up the conflict that began more than seven weeks ago.
"How bad is it that when you are in the middle of negotiations and you have got the Iranians in a perfect position, including being militarily defeated, and you have Democrats and some Republicans asking to settle it now?" Trump told the New York Post.
Even as Trump bristled at his detractors, he sought to soothe jittery investors as US stocks slipped modestly Monday, following the chaotic weekend in the Persian Gulf.
The president found himself remonstrating his energy secretary, Chris Wright, who on Sunday said American motorists might not see gas prices fall back into the $3 per gallon range until late this year or next year.
"I disagree with him totally. I think it'll come roaring down if it ends," Trump told PBS. "If we end it, if Iran does what they should do, it will come roaring down."
Iran said it had reopened the strait to ships Friday, but traffic halted after Trump refused to lift the U.S. blockade.
Sunday's US seizure of the Iranian cargo was the first such interception under the blockade. Iran's joint military command called the armed boarding an act of piracy and a ceasefire violation.
Trump said the blockade will remain "in full force" until Tehran agrees to a deal. The U.S. military said on Monday that it has directed 27 ships to return to Iranian ports since the blockade began last week.