Iranian officials blamed the United States for the stalled negotiations and continued blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and stressed that Iran would not bow to “bullying” by the United States.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Berger Ghalibaf said on Wednesday that a complete ceasefire between the two countries is impossible if the US blockade of Iranian ports continues.
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In his first comments since President Donald Trump announced an extension to the ceasefire between the United States and Iran, Ghalibaf, one of Iran’s chief negotiators, suggested that Iran would not bow to American demands because of the siege.
“A complete ceasefire only makes sense if it is not violated by naval blockades and hostage-taking of the world economy, and if Zionist warmongering across all fronts is stopped,” Ghalibaf wrote to X.
“Reopening the Strait of Hormuz is impossible with such a blatant violation of the ceasefire,” he added, adding that the United States and Israel “have not achieved their goals through military aggression and will not achieve their goals through bullying.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed a similar position, stressing that peace negotiations require diplomacy, not pressure.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes dialogue and agreement and will continue to do so,” he said in a social media post addressing the United States and Israel.
“Broken promises, blockades, and threats are the main obstacles to real negotiations. The world is witnessing your endless hypocritical rhetoric and contradictions between claims and actions.”
Both countries have said they are prepared to return to war, but so far the ceasefire is expected to remain in place on Wednesday, when the initial two-week period ends.
armistice extension
The ceasefire extension was announced just one day after it was revealed that Iranian officials would not attend scheduled talks in Pakistan in protest of the US blockade.
Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saeed Irabani said lifting the siege was a prerequisite for negotiations to proceed.
Asked if the relatively calm ceasefire would continue, Irabani told reporters: “We have not started a military invasion. They have started a war against us and we are ready. If they want to sit down at the table and discuss and find a political solution, they will see that we are ready.”
President Trump did not set a deadline for extending the ceasefire, but indicated on Tuesday that the naval encirclement of Iran would continue to serve as a lever for future talks.
“Four days ago, people came up to me and said, ‘Sir, Iran wants to open the Strait immediately.’ But if we do that, there will never be a deal with Iran unless we blow up the rest of the country, including the Iranian leadership,” the US president said in a social media post.
White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt on Wednesday dismissed media reports that suggested President Trump had set a specific three- to five-day deadline for the ceasefire, stressing that the U.S. president alone determines the date of the war.
Levitt added that President Trump is “comfortable” with the blockade and its impact on Iran’s economy.
“We understand that Iran is in a very vulnerable position, and the cards are now in President Trump’s hands,” he told reporters.
Hours before extending the ceasefire on Tuesday, President Trump said he opposed extending it and warned Iran that time was running out before the US launched a major attack on Iranian infrastructure.
It later agreed to postpone the strike at the request of Pakistani mediators.
“If there is no war, there is no peace”
With the blockade still in place and no new talks scheduled, there are concerns that fighting could resume at any time.
Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera correspondent Ali Hashem said Iran was experiencing “a situation where there is neither war nor peace.”
“The sanctions are still in place. The blockade is still in place. No one can plan for next week or the week after that. Businesses are just waiting to see how this war ends,” Hashem said.
The United States and Israel began a war against Iran on February 28, killing hundreds of civilians and several government officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
The Iranian government responded with missile and drone attacks against Israeli and US assets across the region. Iran also closed the Strait of Hormuz, causing oil prices to soar.
Iran agreed to reopen the waterway as part of a two-week ceasefire that took effect on April 8, but ultimately kept it closed after Israel refused to include Lebanon in the ceasefire.
This was a condition originally laid down in the agreement announced by Pakistan.
After a 10-day ceasefire was announced in Lebanon last week, Iran announced it would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but closed it again after President Trump said the US naval blockade of the country would continue.
US forces captured one Iranian vessel during the siege.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on Wednesday seized two foreign merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz, claiming they violated maritime regulations.
President Trump claims Iran’s executions have been halted
Despite rising tensions, President Trump said Wednesday he was “grateful” that Iran had halted executions of female dissidents at his request.
A day earlier, the US president had released photos of eight people allegedly being held in Iranian custody, claiming they were scheduled to be killed.
“I have been informed that the eight female protesters who were scheduled to be executed tonight in Iran will no longer be killed. Four will be released immediately and four will be sentenced to one month in prison,” President Trump said on his platform Truth Social on Wednesday.
“I am extremely grateful that Iran and its leaders have honored my request as President of the United States and halted the planned execution.”
Later that day, the White House denied US media claims that Iran still possesses significant military capabilities.
“Iran’s defense industrial base has been almost completely destroyed,” Levitt wrote on social media X.
“Iran’s ability to manufacture and stockpile ballistic missiles and long-range unmanned aircraft has been set back for years. The majority of Iran’s ballistic missiles, rocket launchers, and long-range attack drones have been destroyed.”
Iran was able to launch missile attacks against Israel every day of the war.
