Iranian authorities remain defiant, urge supporters to stay in streets

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led Iran’s delegation in talks to end the war, said US delegation ‘failed to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation’.Tehran, Iran – Iranian authorities say the United States needs to do more if an agreement is to be made to end the war as they urge their supporters to maintain control of the streets.The US delegation at Saturday’s marathon talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, “ultimately failed to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations”, said Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the parliament speaker who led the Iranian team.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Oil tankers exit Strait of Hormuz amid fragile US-Iran ceasefirelist 2 of 3Iran must not charge tolls in Strait of Hormuz, UN maritime chief sayslist 3 of 3Ceasefire brings some relief for Iranians but economic outlook remains grimend of listUS President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the US Navy will immediately begin the process of “blockading any and all ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz” in Iran’s southern waters. He also said the US military remains “locked and loaded” and will “finish up” Iran at the “appropriate moment”.The fact that the Iranian delegation did not accede to Washington’s core demands of eliminating nuclear enrichment on Iranian soil and ending Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz was welcomed by Iranian authorities on Sunday as they projected defiance.Judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei thanked the delegation that went to Islamabad and said they “guarded the rights” of the supporters of Iran’s government, including paramilitary forces converging on main squares, streets and mosques in Tehran and other cities every night for more than six weeks.When the delegations were engaged in the talks on Saturday night, a member of the aerospace division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was shown by state television telling flag-waving supporters in downtown Tehran not to be concerned.A billboard reading, ‘The Strait of Hormuz remains closed,’ is displayed in Revolution Square in Tehran on April 12, 2026 [Atta Kenare/AFP]“If the enemy does not understand, we will make them understand,” the man who was wearing military attire and a black mask to conceal his identity said to cheers from the crowd, some of whom demanded more missile and drone attacks from the IRGC.