Iran has issued a response after Donald Trump threatened to ‘blow up the rest of their country, their leaders included’.
The remarks follow a shift in the timeline for US-Iran negotiations, after the US president decided to extend a previously announced two-week window for talks. The move came even after Trump said he was ‘not going to be rushed into making a bad deal’.
That two-week period was originally introduced after Pakistan became involved, when Trump wrote on Truth Social that ‘a whole civilization will die tonight’.
Trump has now announced that the deadline is being pushed back further, despite noting he ‘expected to be bombing’.
He wrote: “Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal.
“I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other.”
In a separate message, Trump also warned he could ‘blow up the rest of their Country, their leaders included’.
Iran, however, has said it will not be pressured by what it described as Trump’s ‘helpless and nervous’ threats.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament and a key figure in the country’s negotiating team, also criticised the extended deadline. Through a statement relayed by a senior advisor, the extension was framed as ‘a ploy to buy time for a surprise strike’, arguing that ‘the time for Iran to take the initiative has come’.
In a statement on social media, Ghalibaf’s advisor Mahdi Mohammadi wrote: “Trump’s ceasefire extension means nothing. The losing side cannot dictate terms. The continuation of the siege is no different from bombardment and must be met with a military response.
“Moreover, Trump’s ceasefire extension is certainly a ploy to buy time for a surprise strike. The time for Iran to take the initiative has come.”
Meanwhile, tensions around the Strait of Hormuz remain high. The narrow passage is considered a vital global chokepoint, with about 20 percent of the world’s oil shipments moving through it.
Iran had previously shut the strait, which sits between Iran’s southern coastline and the United Arab Emirates. Trump has responded by imposing a US blockade.
Iran has since said it will only return to negotiations if the US blockade is lifted.
“They only say they want it closed because I have it totally BLOCKADED (CLOSED!), so they merely want to ‘save face’,” Trump posted on social media.
“People approached me four days ago, saying, ‘Sir, Iran wants to open up the Strait, immediately’.
“But if we do that, there can never be a Deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their Country, their leaders included!”
Trump additionally claimed Iran was losing $500 million each day due to the ongoing closure, and said ‘military and police [are] complaining that they are not getting paid.’