President Donald Trump on Wednesday issued a stark ultimatum to Iran, declaring that the United States will never strike a deal with Tehran unless it fully abandons its nuclear weapons program, warning that the ongoing US naval blockade would remain in place to keep the pressure on.
"The blockade is genius. It has been 100% foolproof. It shows how good our Navy is. Nobody's going to play games," Trump said, in remarks released by The White House.
Expressing frustration with past negotiations, he added: "We are not anymore taking 18 hours of flight, just to see a piece of paper... you know they're going to give you a piece of paper that you don't like before you even leave, it's ridiculous."
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The president then drew his clearest red line on the nuclear question. "At this moment, there will never be a deal unless they agree that there will be no nuclear weapons," he said.
Iran has not yet issued an official response to Wednesday's comments. The statement comes amid an already volatile diplomatic environment, with back-channel talks having repeatedly stalled over the scope and verification of any potential agreement.
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Trump had already cancelled plans for envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to meet Iranian counterparts in Pakistan, writing on Truth Social that there was "too much time wasted on travelling."
A US-Iran ceasefire, brokered by Pakistan on April 8, remains in effect after Trump unilaterally extended it.
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Mediators in Pakistan now expect Iran to submit a revised proposal in the coming days. The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil flows in peacetime, remains closed — the central battleground of a conflict with no diplomatic resolution in sight.
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