‘We will not bow to any threats,’ Iran’s chief negotiator says in state media reports
Iran had very good initiatives to show goodwill in talks with the US which led to progress in the negotiations, the country’s top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said in comments carried by state media on Sunday.
Qalibaf said Donald Trump’s new threats will have no effect on the Iranian nation.
“If you fight, we will fight, and if you come forward with logic, we will deal with logic. We will not bow to any threats, let them test our will once again so that we can teach them a bigger lesson,” he said.
Key events
Australian shares fall after Trump announces blockade
Jonathan Barrett
The Australian share market dropped sharply on Monday morning after US-Iran peace talks broke down and Donald Trump said the navy would blockade the strait of Hormuz.
The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.8% to trade at the 8,890 point mark in the opening minutes of trading. The benchmark had been poised to open higher, according to futures pricing over the weekend, before the breakdown in peace talks spooked traders.
Market strategy consultant Greg Boland, from trading platform Moomoo, says the increase in geopolitical tension will weigh on market sentiment.
The potential for US naval action around the strait of Hormuz raises the risk of disruption to global oil supply, which could feed directly into inflation expectations and complicate the outlook for central banks.”
Oil prices have also risen back above the $US100 a barrel this morning, according to futures pricing.
Global equity markets have been pulled up and down by the Middle East conflict given energy disruptions and increased oil costs contribute to global inflation by elevating costs across nearly all goods and services.
Iran’s parliamentary speaker, who led Tehran’s negotiators at the weekend talks with Washington, has taunted Donald Trump over petrol prices amid the US president’s vow to blockade the strait of Hormuz.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf posted on X above an image appearing to show prices per gallon at gas stations in the White House area:
Enjoy the current pump figures. With the so-called ‘blockade’, Soon you’ll be nostalgic for $4–$5 gas.”
Nick Visser
Australia’s prime minister has said his government wants to see negotiations between the US and Iran continue and that Australia has not been asked to participate in any US blockade of the strait of Hormuz.
Anthony Albanese told Channel 9 television on Monday morning:
We haven’t been asked to participate. We’ve received no requests. We haven’t been asked … and I don’t expect that we will be.
What we want is for negotiations to resume. We want to see an end to the loss of life and the loss of infrastructure… in the Middle East. And we want to see trade resume.
This is having a massive global economic impact, not just on Australia. Every single country is being impacted.”
The war with Iran has cost Israel about 35bn shekels (US$11.5bn) in direct budgetary expenses, according to preliminary estimates from the Israeli finance ministry.
The ministry said the war – involving Israel and the US against Iran – had inflicted severe economic damage, including a significant contraction of GDP and a surge in government spending.
Officials warned that the full financial impact – including long-term reconstruction and economic recovery costs – might not be fully realised for some time.
The largest portion of the budget was consumed by the Israel Defence Forces, the defence ministry, the national security ministry and various intelligence organisations.
Trump considering limited military strikes against Iran – report
Donald Trump and his advisers are looking at resuming limited military strikes in Iran in addition to the US blockade of the Hormuz strait as a way to break a stalemate in peace talks, the Wall Street Journal is reporting, citing officials and people familiar with the situation.
That was among the options the president was considering on Sunday, hours after negotiations collapsed in Pakistan, the report quoted the officials as saying.
It continued:
Trump could also resume a full-fledged bombing campaign, though officials said that was less likely given the prospect of further destabilizing the region and the president’s aversion to prolonged military conflicts. He could also seek a more temporary blockade while he pressures allies to take responsibility for a prolonged military escort mission through the strait in the future.
After the collapse of the US-Iran talks in Pakistan, Trump spent much of Sunday at his resort in Miami, calling in to a Fox News show, golfing and talking with advisers, the report said. He remained open to a diplomatic solution, aides said, even as he promised the blockade and threatened again to target Iran’s infrastructure.
A White House spokesperson declined to discuss Trump’s specific options, the report said.
Summary of the day so far
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Trump said the US Navy would start blockading the strait of Hormuz and would also interdict every vessel in international waters that had paid a toll to Iran. In a lengthy Truth Social post, he said the US was going to start “BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz”.
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In another post Trump also claimed that Iran had “knowingly failed” to make good on its promise to open the strait, causing “anxiety” and “pain” for many countries around the world.
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US Central Command (Centcom) announced it would begin its blockade of the strait beginning Monday morning. “Centcom forces will begin implementing a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on April 13 at 10am ET [1400 GMT], in accordance with the president’s proclamation.”
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Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned in its latest statement that “approaching military vessels to the strait of Hormuz is considered a violation of the ceasefire”.
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Trump reiterated his threat to destroy Iran’s power plants and other civilian energy infrastructure if no deal is reached to end the war, which he started with Israel in what is widely seen as an illegal and unprovoked attack. “I could take out Iran in one day,” he told Fox News on Sunday.
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Trump also said the US didn’t need the strait. “We don’t get our oil from there. We have so much oil,” the US president told Fox. “We have boats pouring up to the United States … We don’t need the strait.”
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Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said Trump’s new threats would have no effect on the Iranian nation. “If you fight, we will fight, and if you come forward with logic, we will deal with logic. We will not bow to any threats.”
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Oil prices rose in early trading on Sunday after Trump’s vow over the Hormuz strait, with US crude increasing 8% to $104.24 a barrel and Brent crude rising 7% to $102.29.
Oil prices rise after Trump blockade vow
More on the oil price lift: the price of US crude increased 8% to $104.24 a barrel and Brent crude oil rose 7% to $102.29 in early market trading on Sunday after Donald Trump said the US would blockade Iranian ports starting on Monday.
The AP reports that Brent crude – the international standard – has swung dramatically during the Iran war, rising from roughly $70 a barrel before the war in late February to more than $119 at times.
On Friday, ahead of the peace talks in Pakistan, Brent for June delivery fell 0.8% to $95.20 a barrel.
Iran has been effectively controlling the strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global oil and LPG shipping. US Central Command said the blockade would be “enforced impartially against vessels of all nations” entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas.
It said it would still allow ships traveling between non-Iranian ports to transit the strait of Hormuz.
About a fifth of the world’s traded oil typically flows through the strait of Hormuz every day. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iran are all major exporters.
Oil prices have reportedly risen in early market trading after Donald Trump said the US would blockade the strait of Hormuz following the failure of weekend peace talks.
Iran’s minister of foreign affairs, Abbas Araghchi, said that yesterday’s negotiations between the US and Iran actually came close to agreement at some point, but ultimately fell apart due to the US “shifting goalposts.”
“In intensive talks at the highest level in 47 years, Iran engaged with US in good faith to end the war,” he wrote. “But when just inches away from ‘Islamabad MoU’, we encountered maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade. Zero lessons earned. Good will begets good will. Enmity begets enmity.”
Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, Parliament speaker of Iran, also chimed in to remind the White House of rising gas prices in the US.
“Enjoy the current pump figures,” he wrote. “With the so-called ‘blockade’, soon you’ll be nostalgic for $4–$5 gas.”
The Lebanese Red Cross said an Israeli drone strike hit their unit and killed a paramedic on Sunday.
“This evening, while carrying out a humanitarian mission at a site on the road to the town of Beit Yahoun, Lebanese Red Cross teams came under direct targeting from an Israeli drone, resulting in the martyrdom of paramedic Hassan Badawi, the injury of another paramedic with minor wounds, and their transfer to Tebnine Governmental Hospital,” the statement said.
2,055 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes since the start of the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah, according to the Health Ministry. Among the dead are 252 women, 165 children, and 87 medical workers. 6,588 others have been wounded.
US Central Command says it will begin blockade of Iranian ports Monday
US Central Command (Centcom) has announced that they will begin their blockade of the strait of Hormuz beginning Monday morning.
“Centcom forces will begin implementing a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on April 13 at 10am ET, in accordance with the President’s proclamation.
“The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. Centcom forces will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.”
Trump said earlier that he plans to begin blockading the strait in an attempt to take control of the strategic waterway from Iran in the aftermath of failed peace negotiations between the countries in Pakistan.
UK prime minister Keir Starmer held a call with French president Emmanuel Macron this afternoon to discuss the ongoing regional crisis in the Middle East.
The two leaders reportedly focused on the necessity of immediate de-escalation, according to a statement from Downing Street. Starmer emphasized the need for a “lasting ceasefire,” with both heads of state agreeing that such an agreement must encompass Lebanon to ensure genuine regional stability.
The leaders also underscored the critical role of the strait of Hormuz in maintaining global trade and energy security. They committed to mobilizing a broad international coalition to safeguard freedom of navigation.
Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian says that an agreement with the US is achievable if “the American government abandons its totalitarianism.”
“If the American government abandons its totalitarianism and respects the rights of the Iranian nation, ways to reach an agreement will certainly be found,” Pezeshkian wrote.
His statement follows an earlier call Pezeshkian held with Russian president Vladimir Putin on Sunday, in which he reportedly said that Tehran is prepared to reach a deal to secure “lasting regional peace”, provided that Iran’s national interests are respected.
Ed Pilkington
The failure of negotiations to end the US war with Iran has unleashed a barrage of starkly partisan political responses, with leading Republicans making hawkish calls for Donald Trump to “finish the job” while top Democrats warned that it would be disastrous for the president to resume hostilities.
The former UN ambassador during Trump’s first presidency, Nikki Haley, led the Republican charge. She told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday that the current two-week ceasefire was a test of nerves.
“This is like a game of chicken,” she said. “It’s who caves first. The Iranian regime is hoping that Trump will cave. Today, he showed he’s not.”
Haley was alluding to Trump’s threat, made hours after marathon peace talks in Pakistan ended without result, that the US military would blockade the strait of Hormuz to prevent Iran profiting from its control of the narrow shipping passage. She encouraged Trump to “go after Iran where it hurts”, adding that what would “really bring Iran to its knees is to go after it economically”.
Speaking on ABC’s This Week, US senator Ron Johnson – a Wisconsin Republican – also urged Trump to take a hard line. He advocated the total removal of the Iranian regime, admitting that the task “could be longer term”.
Read more:
Iran’s navy chief Shahram Irani on Sunday called US president Donald Trump’s threat to blockade the strait of Hormuz “ridiculous”, after marathon talks between Tehran and Washington in Pakistan failed to deliver a deal to end the conflict, reports AFP.
“The brave men of the naval force of the army of the Islamic Republic of Iran are monitoring and supervising all the movements of the aggressive American army in the region. The threats of the US president to blockade Iran at sea… are very ridiculous and funny,” he said, according to state TV.
Donald Trump has said the US will begin blockading the strait of Hormuz in an attempt to take control of the strategic waterway from Iran in the aftermath of failed peace negotiations between the countries in Pakistan.
The US president also threatened to bomb Iran’s water treatment facilities as well as its power plants and bridges, repeating an earlier threat, if Tehran did not agree to abandon its nuclear weapons programme – the key sticking point between the two sides.
Trump’s surprise announcement of a blockade came after 21 hours of face-to-face peace negotiations between the US and Iran in Islamabad collapsed on Sunday morning.
JD Vance, the vice-president and head of the US team, said Iran had refused to give up the possibility of developing nuclear weapons, while the Iranian delegates said Washington needed to do more to win their trust.
My colleagues Dan Sabbagh and Sam Jones have more here:
‘We will not bow to any threats,’ Iran’s chief negotiator says in state media reports
Iran had very good initiatives to show goodwill in talks with the US which led to progress in the negotiations, the country’s top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said in comments carried by state media on Sunday.
Qalibaf said Donald Trump’s new threats will have no effect on the Iranian nation.
“If you fight, we will fight, and if you come forward with logic, we will deal with logic. We will not bow to any threats, let them test our will once again so that we can teach them a bigger lesson,” he said.
Alexandra Topping
The UK will not be involved in any blockade of the strait of Hormuz, the Guardian understands, despite claims by Donald Trump on Sunday the US was “going to be blockading the strait of Hormuz” with the assistance of Nato allies.
Speaking to Fox News, the US president said “it won’t take long to clean out the strait” and claimed “numerous countries are going to be helping us”, adding the UK and other nations were sending minesweepers.
The UK has previously suggested it could play a role in making the strait of Hormuz safe to pass, and has mine-hunting systems and anti-drone capabilities already in the region. But there have been concerns in Whitehall that complying with Trump’s demand to send ships could escalate the crisis. The UK’s willingness to consider a role in mine removal operations is seen as distinct from Trump’s blockade proposal.
Read more:
Reports from multiple outlets state that JD Vance’s goal in the talks with Iran was to outline America’s “red lines” and look for room to negotiate. But Iran’s delegates could not agree to all of the stated red lines.
Robert Malley, a lead negotiator on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, has commented in response to the “red lines” that the US reportedly detailed during yesterday’s negotiations.
These lines include: Ending all uranium enrichment, dismantling all major nuclear enrichment facilities, and fully opening the strait of Hormuz, charging no tolls for passage.
Malley responded to these demands on social media, writing: “If these were actual red lines, they could have spared themselves the trip.”
Malley previously led the Middle East desk of the National Security Council under the Obama administration, becoming a key negotiator on the Iran nuclear deal.
Hooman Majd, an Iranian-American journalist and political commentator, also responded to the red lines list, saying: “There is no way that Iran will ever concede every one of these points (if it even considers any of them at all).
“So realistically, either Trump chooses to go back to talks and is willing to offer compromises, or goes back to war with all the consequences that will ensue.”
