Iran’s parliament speaker threatened military escalation Monday night and declared Tehran will not return to peace negotiations as a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran approaches its Wednesday expiration deadline.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led the Iranian delegation at April 11 peace talks in Islamabad, posted the warning to social media late Monday. “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,” Ghalibaf wrote.
He accused Trump of trying to force a capitulation. “Trump, by imposing a siege and violating the ceasefire, seeks to turn this negotiating table, in his own imagination, into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering,” Ghalibaf wrote.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei followed Monday with a formal declaration that Tehran would not send a team to Islamabad for a second round of talks. “If the U.S. sends a team to Islamabad, that is a matter that concerns them,” Baqaei said at a press conference.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran does not accept any deadlines or ultimatums to safeguard its national interests. We have clearly stated our red lines from the beginning, and we will not change our principled positions,” Baqaei added.
The two-week ceasefire was announced April 8 and brokered by Pakistan. The first round of talks took place in Islamabad on April 11, with Vice President JD Vance leading the U.S. side and Ghalibaf heading the Iranian delegation. That session ended without a long-term agreement.
Trump has signaled he will not extend the ceasefire without a deal. He told reporters Sunday that an extension was “highly unlikely” if no agreement was reached by Wednesday night.
Tensions escalated sharply over the weekend. On Friday, Trump posted to Truth Social that the Strait of Hormuz was “COMPLETELY OPEN” while maintaining that the U.S. maritime blockade of Iran would continue “until there is a DEAL.”
Iran reversed course within 24 hours. Iran’s joint military command announced Saturday that “control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state… under strict management and control of the armed forces.” The military statement said restrictions on the waterway would remain in effect as long as the U.S. blockade continued.
Ghalibaf’s threat to “reveal new cards on the battlefield” came against this backdrop. He led the Iranian delegation at the first round of Islamabad talks and is considered one of Tehran’s top security officials, having previously served as commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Air Force.
The standoff is a significant deterioration from a week ago, when both sides appeared to be moving toward extended talks. A Pakistani general said publicly last week that diplomacy was “still alive.” That optimism appears to have evaporated.
