US, Iran exchange threats as fragile ceasefire set to expire

The US and Iran trade threats as tensions escalate between the countries before their two-week ceasefire ends.Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said Iran is “prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield” after United States President Donald Trump threatened Tehran with “problems like they’ve never seen before” if the two-week ceasefire expires on Wednesday without a deal.The war of words comes as the second round of US-Iran peace talks scheduled to take place this week in Pakistan remains in limbo after the US seized an Iranian-flagged vessel near the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, angering Iranian authorities and provoking another surge in global oil prices.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Iran expands limited internet access but restrictions remain for mostlist 2 of 3These are difficult times for the world, so what will Pakistan do?list 3 of 3US is ‘pretty far behind where they started’ the war on Iranend of listReporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi said, “There is no official confirmation on whether Iran is going to take part in talks in Islamabad.”“We know that Iran has tried to keep the door ajar to diplomacy, so there is still a possibility,” he added.In an overnight post on X, Ghalibaf expressed anger at Trump for “imposing a siege and violating the ceasefire”.“We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and in the past two weeks, we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield,” he said.This was a “mixed message”, according to Asadi, “saying Iran is ready for negotiations but not under terms imposed by the US”.“There will be no easy negotiations, if, of course, they even happen, as there are still several complicated sticking points. Both sides have a long list of demands, including relating to the Strait of Hormuz, sanctions, war reparations, ballistic missiles and Iran’s regional relations,” Asadi said.