Investing.com– U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that the naval blockade against Iran will remain in place until a deal is struck with Tehran, as the status of more peace talks remained uncertain before a ceasefire ends this week.
Trump, in a social media post, claimed that he was winning the war “by a lot,” and dismissed media reports which he claimed reported to the contrary. He repeated his claims that Iran’s military and missile capabilities had been “wiped out.”
“THE BLOCKADE, which we will not take off until there is a “DEAL,” is absolutely destroying Iran,” Trump said in a Truth.Social post.
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Trump had earlier repeated his threats of bombing Iran’s critical infrastructure if no deal was reached. His comments come after renewed hostilities over the weekend, where U.S. forces fired on and ceased an Iranian vessel which they said was attempting to run their naval blockade.
This came as Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz after briefly opening the key shipping channel over the weekend. Tehran said Hormuz will remain closed until the U.S. blockade is lifted.
Iran ceasefire to end this week, report says Tehran up for more talks
Focus this week is squarely on whether the U.S. and Iran will meet for more peace talks before their ceasefire expires on Wednesday.
Iran’s Speaker of the Parliament and top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the country would not accept negotiations “under the shadow of threats,” and that Iran had prepared “new cards” to play on the battlefield.
His comments indicated that Tehran was less inclined towards more peace talks with Washington. But a Wall Street Journal report showed Iran had told regional mediators that it would send a team to Pakistan on Tuesday for a second round of ceasefire talks with Washington.
But publicly, Iranian officials said they had not made any decisions on more talks with the U.S., local media reports showed.
Trump, in an interview with the New York Post earlier in the day, confirmed that a U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance will head to Islamabad for peace talks this week. He also said that it was “highly unlikely” for the ceasefire to be extended.