The United States and Iran on Monday each warned they were ready for war as the clock ticked on a ceasefire, with uncertainty on talks that US President Donald Trump had announced would resume in Pakistan.
The White House said Vice-President J.D. Vance was ready to fly back to the Pakistani capital Islamabad, which was visibly preparing for a second round of talks on ending the war that has engulfed the Middle East and shaken global markets.
But Tehran’s cleric-run government declined to confirm that it would take part and accused the United States of violating the truce through its blockade of Iranian ports and seizure of a ship.
“By imposing a blockade and violating the ceasefire, Trump wants to turn this negotiating table into a surrender table or justify renewed hostilities, as he sees fit,” said Iran’s powerful parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who headed the delegations to talks two weeks ago in Pakistan.
“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 social media.