JERUSALEM (AP) 鈥� U.S. President Donald Trump has raised the stakes in his showdown with after declaring the American military has blockaded all of the country’s ports.
Trump announced the move on Monday, a day after ceasefire talks with Iran in Pakistan ended without agreement.
is part of an effort to force Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz to global traffic and accept a deal to end an that has inflicted heavy damage on Iran, reverberated across the region and shaken the world economy.
Iran, however, responded with threats against all other ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, raising the possibility that the two-week ceasefire declared last week could collapse and the war could resume.
Here鈥檚 a closer look at where things stand.
Trump insists Iran still wants a deal
The standoff shows how entrenched the longtime adversaries remain over the war, which Israel and the United States launched on Feb. 28.
Speaking outside the Oval Office on Monday, Trump suggested the U.S. is still willing to negotiate a resolution with Iran and said the Iranians are also looking for a way out.
鈥淚 can tell you that we鈥檝e been called by the other side,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been called this morning by the right people, the appropriate people, and they want to work a deal.鈥�
Earlier Monday, the powerful head of Iran鈥檚 judiciary, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, said Iran is ready for negotiations but only on the basis of 鈥減rinciples and logic.鈥�
Neither side has indicated what will happen after the ceasefire expires on April 22.
Views differ on how to end the war
When the U.S. and Israel began the war, they pledged to eliminate Iran鈥檚 nuclear and missile programs and its support for armed proxy groups across the region, such as the Lebanese Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group.
Ahead of the weekend talks, the U.S. had presented a 15-point plan that is believed to include those demands.
While the U.S. proposal hasn鈥檛 been made public, Pakistani officials told The Associated Press that it also calls for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway through which one-fifth of the world鈥檚 oil usually flows. Iran鈥檚 closure of the strait sent and global markets plunging.
Iran countered with a 10-point plan of its own, which calls for Iranian control over the strait, an end to the war and halting attacks on its proxies, as well as demands for compensation for the damage wrought by the war.
Sticking points include Iran’s nuclear program
Neither side appears to have budged much from its ceasefire terms after the 21-hour face-to-face talks ended early on Sunday.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who led the U.S. delegation, said that Iran had failed to give assurances that it will not seek to develop a nuclear weapon.
Iran has long denied but has insisted on a civilian nuclear program that includes uranium enrichment 鈥� a key step toward developing a weapon. Experts say that Iran鈥檚 current stockpile of enriched uranium is a short technical step from being weapons grade.
Iran鈥檚 chief negotiator, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, did not mention the core disputes in a series of social media posts after the talks, adding that the U.S. must decide 鈥渨hether it can gain our trust or not.鈥�
But other Iranian officials signaled that the Strait of Hormuz also remains a key sticking point.
Ebrahim Rezaei, a spokesperson for the Iranian parliament鈥檚 National Security Commission, dismissed U.S. talk of a blockade Monday as 鈥渕ore bluffing than reality,鈥� and warned that Tehran was prepared to respond if the situation escalates.
Where diplomatic efforts go from here
Pakistan鈥檚 foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, has said that his country will try to facilitate a new round of dialogue between Iran and the U.S. in the coming days. There was no immediate reaction from either side.
Each side has declared victory and seems to think it has time on its side.
Trump on Monday said he would not allow Iran to 鈥渂lackmail鈥� the world and said in a social media post that any Iranian ships that try to attack the blockade will be 鈥淓LIMINATED.鈥�
Esmaeil Baqaei, spokesperson for Iran鈥檚 foreign ministry, dismissed the blockade as a 鈥渞evenge of choice鈥� that would further hurt the global economy.
鈥淚s it ever worthwhile to cut off one鈥檚 nose to spite one鈥檚 face?!鈥� he wrote.
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