Trump: Iran is mere words without action
Efforts to reach a settlement between Washington and Tehran are facing an uncertain path, after a senior Iranian source told Reuters that there were no discussions regarding an extension of the ceasefire. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump described Iran as “all talk and no action, and no longer the tyrant of the Middle East.”
Trump wrote on his platform, Truth Social, that “the United States has complete control over the Strait of Hormuz! Everyone describes our naval blockade as a steel wall, and there is nothing Iran can do about it.”
He stated that Iran “cannot do anything about it. They have no navy, no air force, and their remaining soldiers are not being paid. The Revolutionary Guard is exhausted and fleeing, and their leadership is unstable at best!”
He added, “They have no money—their country is in a terrible state. All they have is fake news and 300% inflation, and the situation is getting worse!”
Meanwhile, after the official Turkish Anadolu Agency reported that Pakistani government sources stated Tehran and Washington had agreed to extend the ceasefire, which had lasted for 60 days under a memorandum of understanding between them, the Iranian source said that “among the issues being discussed through intermediaries are Washington’s return to the interim agreement and setting a timeline for implementing commitments. No significant progress has been made in this regard.”
He told Reuters, “There is no talk of an extension. From Iran’s perspective, there was no period during which the ceasefire began, and therefore nothing to extend. Washington violated the interim agreement just 48 hours after it was reached and withdrew from it a few days later.”
The 60-day period refers to a renewable timeframe during which the two countries were expected to reach a final agreement limiting Tehran’s nuclear program and lifting sanctions on Iran.
For its part, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry described the memorandum of understanding as a “model for peace,” coinciding with the visit of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to Tehran to encourage Iran to resume negotiations with Washington.
It clarified that Naqvi is discussing security issues, regional stability, and developments, as well as ways to enhance “constructive interaction” among regional parties. He met with President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni, according to Iran’s official IRNA news agency.
Twenty-six countries, including Britain and France, along with the European Union, condemned Iran’s continued “execution of protesters” in the wake of demonstrations that took place in the country months ago.
In a joint statement, these countries viewed “the use of the ultimate penalty to silence criticism, intimidate communities, and punish those exercising their fundamental rights” as “absolutely unjustifiable,” calling on Tehran to “immediately cease applying the death penalty and release without delay all arbitrarily detained individuals.”
