Iranian authorities remain defiant, urge supporters to stay in streets

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led Iran’s delegation successful talks to extremity the war, said US delegation ‘failed to summation the spot of the Iranian delegation’.

Tehran, Iran – Iranian authorities accidental the United States needs to bash much if an statement is to beryllium made to extremity the warfare arsenic they impulse their supporters to support power of the streets.

The US delegation astatine Saturday’s marathon talks successful Islamabad, Pakistan, “ultimately failed to summation the spot of the Iranian delegation successful this circular of negotiations”, said Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the parliament talker who led the Iranian team.

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US President Donald Trump said connected Sunday that the US Navy volition instantly statesman the process of “blockading immoderate and each ships trying to enter, oregon leave, the Strait of Hormuz” successful Iran’s confederate waters. He besides said the US subject remains “locked and loaded” and volition “finish up” Iran astatine the “appropriate moment”.

The information that the Iranian delegation did not accede to Washington’s halfway demands of eliminating atomic enrichment connected Iranian ungraded and ending Iranian power implicit the Strait of Hormuz was welcomed by Iranian authorities connected Sunday arsenic they projected defiance.

Judiciary main Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei thanked the delegation that went to Islamabad and said they “guarded the rights” of the supporters of Iran’s government, including paramilitary forces converging connected main squares, streets and mosques successful Tehran and different cities each nighttime for much than six weeks.

When the delegations were engaged successful the talks connected Saturday night, a subordinate of the aerospace part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was shown by authorities tv telling flag-waving supporters successful downtown Tehran not to beryllium concerned.

A billboard reading, ‘The Strait of Hormuz remains closed,’ is displayed successful Revolution Square successful Tehran connected April 12, 2026 [Atta Kenare/AFP]

“If the force does not understand, we volition marque them understand,” the antheral who was wearing subject attire and a achromatic disguise to conceal his individuality said to cheers from the crowd, immoderate of whom demanded much rocket and drone attacks from the IRGC.

State tv besides said it was Trump, not Tehran, that wished to “restore his image” done the negotiations and his “excessive demands” were the crushed the talks failed.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it did not expect to scope an statement aft lone 1 time of negotiations.

Multiple lawmakers successful the hardliner-dominated parliament said they were blessed that the talks did not output results due to the fact that they believed Iran had the precocious manus successful the war.

Hamidreza Haji-Babaei, the parliament speaker’s deputy, said the lone happening acceptable to the constitution supporters who are connected the streets is simply a United Nations Security Council solution that would awesome “surrender” for the US and pb to the lifting of sanctions against Iran and its leaders.

Amir Hossein Sabeti, a Tehran lawmaker affiliated with the Paydari faction of hardliners, said helium was thankful to the negotiating squad for “not backing distant from reddish lines” and “there is nary mode near but to amusement absorption successful the tract against these evildoers and demons”.

More escalation ahead

This comes aft immoderate pro-state voices said they were disheartened by the abrupt announcement overnight into Wednesday of a two-week ceasefire and nonstop negotiations connected ending the warfare with the US.

To assuage interior concerns, the Iranian delegation to Islamabad had much than 85 members, according to section media, including dozens of representatives from state-affiliated media and analysts adjacent to antithetic factions.

In summation to Ghalibaf, a erstwhile IRGC commandant who precocious Iran’s rocket programme, elder members of the squad included Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, hardline diplomat Ali Bagheri Kani, Defence Council caput and erstwhile information main Ali Akbar Ahmadian and mean cardinal slope main Abdolnasser Hemmati.

The talks connected Saturday established that a diplomatic breakthrough was not adjacent and that much escalation was likely, adjacent if determination is nary contiguous instrumentality to full-fledged fighting.

“What helium [Trump] has been saying aft the negotiations is conscionable excessive talk. He is saying his wishes retired loud,” Ebrahim Azizi, the caput of the nationalist information committee of Iran’s parliament, told authorities tv connected Sunday day astir Trump’s announced naval blockade and caller threats.

The IRGC has threatened that it volition respond to immoderate transition of subject vessels done the Strait of Hormuz with afloat force. It besides rejected the US military’s announcement during the talks that 2 US warships had passed done the strait successful mentation for an cognition to wide naval mines blocking the strategical waterway.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian successful a telephone telephone connected Sunday that helium is acceptable to proceed diplomatically facilitating a bid colony successful the Middle East.

Pezeshkian, who has been tasked chiefly with moving connected home affairs, has supported continuity of the constitution and backing for Mojtaba Khamenei, the ultimate person who has not been seen oregon heard from extracurricular of written statements since Israel and the US launched the warfare connected February 28. His authorities announced that schools and universities volition beryllium held online, utilizing a constricted section intranet, until further notice.

Iran’s economy continues to suffer from chronic ostentation with much jobs mislaid successful 2026 arsenic the authorities continues to enforce a near-total net shutdown.