U.S., Iran ratchet up rhetoric with peace talks in limbo
The front page of Javan newspaper (L) and the front page of Jam Jam newspaper, with a cartoon of US President Donald Trump drowning in the Strait of Hormuz with the headline “Marine Bluff”, were put on sale at a newsstand in Tehran on April 13, 2026.
Atta Kenare | Afp | Getty Images
The United States and Iran have escalated their war of words as the shaky ceasefire approaches its end; Both sides have raised the bar ahead of a second attempt to reach a peace agreement.
Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Galibaf, stood out as one of the prominent figures. a social media post On Tuesday, he criticized US President Donald Trump for “imposing a siege and violating the ceasefire” and trying to “turn the negotiation into a surrender or legitimize renewed warmongering.”
Galibaf also suggested that Iran has new influence in this impasse. “Over the past two weeks, we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield,” Ghalibaf said, without elaborating. “We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats,” he added.
The sharp rhetoric came after Trump repeated his threat to bomb Iran with overwhelming military force if a deal is not reached, saying “there are too many bombs” [will] Start heading out.”
The status of ongoing peace talks and other key details of the current relationship between the warring powers have become increasingly uncertain, with Trump torn between continuing his tough rhetoric and indicating Washington is ready for additional talks with Iran.
“This is the last chance to reach an agreement before the ceasefire ends,” former U.S. ambassador to Oman Marc Sievers told CNBC’s “Access Middle East” on Monday, warning that the risks would be high if Trump continued his threat to resume military hostilities against Iran’s power plants and bridges.
The rise in tensions comes as the US delegation prepares to return to Pakistan for a possible second round of peace talks. The American delegation “plans to go to Islamabad soon,” a source familiar with the matter told CNBC on Monday morning.
Iran has repeatedly denied participating in the meeting. A delegation from Tehran plans to go to Islamabad for talks on Tuesday. According to The New York TimesCiting two Iranian officials.
The first round of talks held in Islamabad, led by Vice President JD Vance and US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, ended on April 12 without any solution to thorny issues such as Iran’s nuclear program.
The United States and Iran agreed on a two-week ceasefire on the evening of April 7. The temporary ceasefire came under increasing pressure during its short duration, with each side accusing the other of violating the terms of the agreement.
One Interview with Bloomberg On Monday, Trump said the ceasefire would expire “Wednesday evening Washington time,” potentially adding additional hours for negotiations. Trump added that it was It is not possible to extend A ceasefire will be reached in Iran after Wednesday and the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened until an agreement is reached with Tehran.
Asked if he would expect hostilities to resume immediately if a deal is not reached, Trump said: “If there is no deal, I would definitely expect it.”
Upcoming peace talks
Cornelia Meyer, managing director of Meyer Resources, said that the most realistic outcome of the Islamabad talks is a diplomatic road map rather than a permanent solution. Referring to the Iran nuclear deal, which took more than two years of negotiations to reach the preliminary framework in 2015, Meyer said that “expecting a real peace agreement is going too far.”
Vance, along with officials from the National Security Council, State Department and Pentagon, was reportedly part of the U.S. delegation that traveled to Pakistan for talks on Tuesday, according to multiple news outlets.
Alan Eyre, a former top U.S. diplomat who helped negotiate the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, said American negotiators may be at a disadvantage at the negotiating table with Iran’s experienced diplomatic corps.
Eyre said the United States “will be out of their league unless they bring in a team of competent experts that they trust,” adding that the “best possible, realistic outcome” from potential negotiations would be agreement on general principles and an extension of the ceasefire.
The fate of Iran’s nuclear material will remain a major sticking point in the negotiations. Trump said on Friday that Iran agreed to transfer its stocks The claim that Iran sold highly enriched uranium to the USA was denied within a few hours.
One Real Social post Stateside late Monday, Trump reiterated that the US’s “Operation Midnight Hammer” (strikes targeting three facilities critical to Tehran’s nuclear program in June 2025) had succeeded in ensuring the “complete destruction of Nuclear Dust sites” and that “excavating it will be a long and difficult process.”
The United States and Iran are also locked in an intense stalemate over maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz; Trump has vowed to maintain a blockade of Iranian ports and Tehran has reasserted military control over the vital waterway. In normal times, this transit point is the transit route for 20% of the world’s oil and gas transits.
Further escalating tensions in the canal, Iran’s foreign ministry accused the United States of attacking an Iranian commercial ship and demanded the release of the crew.
Over the weekend, the US Navy fired on and captured an Iranian-flagged cargo ship attempting to breach the blockade, the first significant encounter since the US blockade began; Tehran opened fire on two ships trying to pass; This is the latest tension in the vital artery that has put both sides on a collision course as the clock ticks down in Islamabad.
“Any escalation, especially the military action around Hormuz, could trigger a new rise in oil prices and widespread risk aversion,” said Lloyd Chan, senior currency analyst at MUFG Global Markets Research, noting that the dark outlook for peace talks has led markets to speculate when energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz could resume.
— CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report.
