Iran warns it has 'new cards'

Iran’s parliament speaker said Tehran has “new cards on the battlefield” if talks with Washington collapse and fighting resumes. (cnbc.com) Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf posted the warning on Tuesday, April 21, as a two-week ceasefire with the United States was nearing its scheduled end. He accused President Donald Trump of violating the truce and trying to turn negotiations into “a table of surrender.” (cnbc.com) Trump had renewed his own threat a day earlier, saying “lots of bombs” would start going off if no deal is reached. On Tuesday he said the United States was extending the ceasefire at Pakistan’s request while waiting for a “unified proposal” from Tehran. (cnbc.com) (apnews.com) The immediate dispute is about more than battlefield rhetoric. U.S. and Iranian negotiators have been trying to prevent the war from restarting while also arguing over Iran’s nuclear program, including what happens to enriched uranium stockpiles and how long Tehran would halt nuclear work. (usnews.com) Those gaps have already narrowed the diplomacy. Reuters reported on April 16 that both sides had scaled back from a comprehensive settlement and were discussing a temporary memorandum instead. (usnews.com) The talks are also colliding with a power struggle inside Iran. The Institute for the Study of War said Ghalibaf has been arguing for diplomacy backed by military pressure, while Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps commander Ahmad Vahidi and other hard-liners have pushed against negotiations. (understandingwar.org) That split has muddied the next round of talks in Islamabad. CNBC reported a U.S. team planned to travel to Pakistan, but Iranian state television said on April 21 that no Iranian delegation had yet left for Islamabad. (cnbc.com) (gulf-times.com) U.S. officials have publicly hinted at the same problem from the other side. The Institute for the Study of War, citing Axios, said American negotiators believed they had reached understandings in Islamabad on April 11 and 12, only to conclude later that the Iranian team did not speak for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. (understandingwar.org) The phrase “new cards” was left undefined, but it landed amid arguments over the U.S. naval blockade, the April 19 seizure of the Iranian-flagged vessel Touska, and Iranian moves in parliament to formalize tighter control over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. (understandingwar.org) For now, both governments are still talking about talks while warning about war. Tehran is signaling it wants leverage at the table, and Washington is signaling the ceasefire can be extended only if a deal starts to take shape. (apnews.com) (cnbc.com)