President Trump has intensified his military threats against Iran, telling reporters Monday that Iran is "getting obliterated" and claiming he alone controls any ceasefire decision. When asked directly if bombing civilian infrastructure would constitute a war crime, Trump said "No. I hope I don't have to do it," pointing to Iranian attacks on civilians throughout the conflict and describing them as "animals." The latest escalation comes as Trump has framed the ceasefire repeatedly as Iran's "last chance" and has renewed threats to bomb Iranian power plants and bridges if no deal is reached by Wednesday. Asked about a Pakistani proposal for a 45-day extended ceasefire, Trump described it as "not good enough, but a very significant step," the closest he came to acknowledging that a bridging framework exists. Legal experts have consistently described Trump's specific threats against power plants and water infrastructure as potential war crimes under international humanitarian law.
Vice President JD Vance led a US delegation to Islamabad on Monday, accompanied by envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, despite Iran's Foreign Ministry formally declaring it had no plans to attend a second round of Pakistan-mediated negotiations. According to Axios, two US Air Force C-17 cargo planes had already landed at a Pakistani air base Sunday with security equipment and vehicles, signaling the delegation was committed to arriving whether or not Iran confirmed participation. Pakistan's Red Zone was locked down with thousands of paramilitary and army personnel deployed in anticipation of the US arrival. Despite public denials, Iranian sources had indicated a delegation was expected in Pakistan on Tuesday, potentially including parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who led the Iranian team in the first round. The Islamic republic's refusal stems from what it called Washington's excessive demands, unrealistic expectations, constant shifts in stance, repeated contradictions, and the ongoing naval blockade, which it considers a breach of the ceasefire.
Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters issued a formal statement Monday warning that any repeat attack on civilian targets will trigger "much more devastating and widespread" retaliatory operations. The military command stated that if attacks on civilian targets are repeated, "the next stages of our offensive and retaliatory operations will be much more devastating and widespread." Iranian authorities have urged civilians to form human chains around power plants as a deterrent, with Iran's internet infrastructure already suffering outages attributed to earlier strikes. The Bushehr nuclear facility was previously hit, and Iran has warned that any attack on its power plants would trigger retaliatory strikes on power stations and desalination plants across Gulf Arab states. The Strait of Hormuz crisis has intensified with Iran officially closing the strait on March 4th in response to US-Israeli air strikes and declaring it back open on Friday after a 10-day ceasefire deal was agreed between Israel and Lebanon.
Tehran has told intermediaries it believes the US announcement of talks is designed to build a "blame game" narrative: publicly committing to negotiations while preparing military strikes to coincide with the ceasefire expiry. The Sunday seizure of the Touska, arriving hours after Trump announced the Pakistan talks, reinforced that suspicion. Iran's Foreign Ministry described US statements about negotiations as "a media game." Iran's chief negotiator Ghalibaf said in state television remarks Saturday that Iran's armed forces remain "ready" even while pursuing diplomacy, framing the two tracks as simultaneous rather than alternative. The original ceasefire was announced hours before a midnight deadline during which Trump had threatened "a whole civilization will die tonight." Iran's negotiating team arrived at the first round dressed in black, in mourning for those killed in the war, with the level of institutional mistrust not being rhetorical.
Pakistan has been gearing up to host the second round of talks between the US and Iran, with Islamabad's Marriott Hotel and the Serena Hotel issuing evacuation orders and sealing access to the Red Zone. According to Al Jazeera reports, Pakistani officials remain cautiously hopeful that they can bring the two sides back to the negotiating table, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaking with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday about the need for "continued dialogue and engagement." Pakistan's army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir has served as the primary interlocutor between delegations throughout the conflict. Despite Iran's public rejection, Pakistani authorities completed Red Zone security preparations, suggesting Islamabad has reasons to believe Iran may still participate. An Iranian parliamentary official told Al Jazeera that Iran would "likely" send a team Monday or Tuesday, a gap between the Foreign Ministry's statement and the parliamentary official's remark that Pakistan is actively working to close.
The next 48 hours will determine which scenario plays out for Bitcoin price markets, with a ceasefire extension or genuine deal replicating the April 8 template: oil crashes and BTC surges, potentially toward $80,000, while a confirmed collapse with resumed strikes tests the institutional demand floor below $70,000. The Iran nuclear sticking point remains the hardest to bridge: the US requires Iran to permanently halt uranium enrichment, and Iran has said it will not surrender its 440-kilogram stockpile. A second round would need to find a formula, such as third-party custody of the stockpile, that neither side has publicly endorsed but that both have reportedly discussed through Pakistani intermediaries. The situation has become even more direct for crypto markets, as Tehran has begun charging oil tankers a fee of $1 per barrel in Bitcoin to cross the Strait of Hormuz, making it the first state to demand BTC for a major trade route and effectively hard-wiring the Bitcoin price into the cost of global energy logistics.
