ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that his negotiators were heading to Islamabad on Monday evening to reach a deal, calling on Iran to accept it or face serious consequences.
“We’re offering a very fair and reasonable deal, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single power plant and every single bridge in Iran,” Trump said on Truth Social. “If they don’t take the deal, it will be my honor to do what has to be done — what should have been done to Iran by other presidents over the last 47 years.”
Trump’s remarks came a day after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had closed the Strait of Hormuz and fired on a number of vessels. On Friday, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said in a post on X that the Strait had been reopened for the remainder of the ceasefire period, a move that led to a sharp drop in oil prices.
The United States and Israel launched a preemptive air campaign on February 28, targeting more than 15,000 sites over six weeks of hostilities before the two sides agreed on April 8 to halt fighting for two weeks.
Both sides have continued to exchange rhetoric since the ceasefire was announced, while Pakistani and other negotiators attempt to ease tensions.
The IRGC’s Aerospace Force commander, Seyyed Majid Mousavi, said on Sunday that his forces had replenished missile launch capabilities and drone stockpiles during the ceasefire, which is set to expire on Wednesday.
“During the pause in fighting, our speed in upgrading and replenishing missile and drone launch platforms has been even higher than before the war,” Mousavi was quoted as saying by state media, alongside footage of him visiting what appeared to be a missile and drone facility at an undisclosed location in Iran.
This marks the second round of negotiations between the two sides in Islamabad, where Trump has expressed optimism about reaching a negotiated settlement rather than continuing the conflict.
Iran’s negotiating team, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has already faced backlash from the regime’s core ideological base in Tehran, with critics arguing that Iran should not compromise on key issues such as uranium enrichment or its position in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump told Fox News on Sunday that if no agreement is reached within 48 hours, “the whole country is going to get blown up.”