US President Donald Trump said Sunday that talks with Iran on extending the ceasefire would resume on Tuesday, while the Islamic Republic indicated it was not planning to send a delegation and was pessimistic about the prospects of the talks.
Trump told Fox News that White House envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff would be heading to the Pakistani capital Islamabad for the negotiations, and if Tehran does not agree to a deal, the whole of Iran would be “blown up.”
He told the outlet that bridges and power plants in Iran would be targeted, repeating his threat to target civilian infrastructure — plans that appeared to have been halted after the ceasefire was reached nearly two weeks ago. The break in the fighting is set to expire on Wednesday if an extension is not agreed upon.
Trump told Fox he is demanding that Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz and give up its highly enriched uranium, a demand Tehran has not agreed to.
Iran has consistently denied seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. However, it enriched uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities, and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities, all while repeatedly threatening over the years to annihilate Israel.
Contrary to Trump’s claim, Iranian state media reported on Sunday night that Tehran was not planning to take part in new talks.
“There are currently no plans to participate in the next round of Iran-US talks,” state broadcaster IRIB said, citing Iranian sources.
Earlier on Sunday, Iranian news outlet IRNA had pointed to Washington’s “maximalism and unreasonable and unrealistic demands, frequent changes of positions, constant contradictions, and the continuation of the so-called naval blockade,” adding that “in these circumstances, there is no clear prospect of fruitful negotiations.”
The Fars and Tasnim news agencies, quoting anonymous sources, said Tehran has yet to decide whether it will participate and that “the overall atmosphere cannot be assessed as very positive,” with Fars citing one source as saying the lifting of a US blockade on Iranian ports is a precondition for talks. The blockade was imposed in response to Tehran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
After Sunday’s interview, Trump emphasized his threats on Truth Social, writing: “We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran.”
“NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!” he wrote.
He said that the bridges and plants will “come down fast, they’ll come down easy and, if they don’t take the DEAL, it will be my Honor to do what has to be done, which should have been done to Iran, by other Presidents, for the last 47 years.”
“IT’S TIME FOR THE IRAN KILLING MACHINE TO END!” he concluded.
“The concept of the deal is done. I think we have a very good chance to get it completed,” Trump said.
However, according to the same report, Trump did not talk about an impending deal with Iran during a meeting with his top advisers on Saturday, which could be an indication that the US is gearing up for a return to fighting. The report added that Iran’s leadership seems suspicious that Trump’s upbeat talk of a deal could be intended to create cover for a surprise US attack on Iranian targets.
At the same time, an unnamed US official told the outlet that Trump is serious about reaching an agreement with Iran during talks this week in Pakistan.
If talks do collapse, Channel 12 reported, Israel has prepared a series of Iranian targets to hit. Though Trump threatened to strike Iranian infrastructure if a deal is not reached, Israel’s targets are not necessarily infrastructure sites.
As such, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that the US-Israeli effort against Iran is “not over yet,” in an address alongside Argentinian President Javier Milei on Sunday.
“Any moment could bring us new developments,” said Netanyahu. “Who knows what tomorrow or the day after tomorrow will bring.”
Netanyahu said the US and Israel “shall achieve our objectives and achieve more hope, more light for the free peoples of the world.”
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