"We are far from final discussion" | Iran days before ceasefire with US ends

Iran has said that there has been "progress" in peace talks with the United States, but a final deal remained "far" off, with the two-week ceasefire set to end on Wednesday. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament, said in a televised address on Saturday that "there are many gaps and some fundamental points remain." "We are still far from the final discussion," said Ghalibaf, who led the Iranian delegation during the first round of talks in Pakistan last Saturday. He also said that Iran had been "victorious in the field" during weeks of war and had only agreed to a temporary truce with Washington because its demands had been met. "If we accepted the ceasefire, it was because they accepted our demands," he said, referring to the United States. Ghalibaf said the US had not achieved its goals and Iran controlled the strategic Strait of Hormuz maritime transit route.

"The enemy's every effort was to impose its demands on us and it is important that we register our rights, so this is where negotiation is a method of struggle," he said. Ghalibaf and his delegation held closed-door talks in Islamabad with US Vice President JD Vance on April 11, in the highest-level Iran-US contacts since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The negotiations, however, did not result in a final deal.

Iran's deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh has said that no date has been set for the next round of negotiations with the US. Speaking on the sidelines of a diplomacy forum in Antalya, he said Tehran is prioritising the finalisation of a “framework of understanding” before committing to further talks. CNN had reported that the next rounds of talks were scheduled for Monday in Islamabad.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday said that "very good conversations" were going on with Iran but warned Tehran against trying to "blackmail" the United States. Speaking to reporters at a White House event, he accused Iran of getting "a little cute" with its recent moves, referring to Tehran reimposing restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz, which usually carries a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas. "We're talking to them. They wanted to close up the strait again -- you know, as they've been doing for years -- and they can't blackmail us," Trump said. He said there would be "some information" about Iran later in the day, adding: "We're taking a tough stand." He had earlier threatened "to start dropping bombs again" unless Iran reached a long-term deal before the ceasefire expires on Wednesday.