Trump says ‘ready to bomb’ as clock ticks on ceasefire

NO CONFIRMATION FROM IRAN ON ATTENDING ISLAMABAD TALKS

- JEFF MASON, BEN BARTENSTEIN & FIONA MACDONALD

THE US IS still in the dark on whether Iran will take part in fresh talks to end the war before a ceasefire expires around Wednesday, with the sides deadlocked on issues including access to the Strait of Hormuz.

US President Donald Trump said Tehran had “no choice” but to send a delegation to negotiations in Pakistan, with his vice-president, JD Vance, primed to fly to Islamabad on Tuesday. The US is in a strong negotiating position, he told CNBC, and is “ready to go” with a resumption of bombing if a breakthrough isn’t reached.

Iran has yet to confirm its attendance in Pakistan with Trump’s ceasefire deadline fast approaching, raising the risk of a resumption of fighting in a seven-week war that’s killed thousands of people and triggered a growing energy supply crisis.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led Iran’s delegation during the first round of talks earlier this month, said his country would not “accept negotiations under the shadow of threats”.