Tehran, Iran – Iranian authorities and state media are projecting a hardened stance, signaling less interest in negotiations with the United States beyond their accepted terms, after mediated talks in Pakistan failed to materialize.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met senior Pakistani officials in Islamabad on Saturday and then left for Oman, en route to Russia. Unlike a previous round earlier this month, he was not joined by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Araghchi said he was "yet to see if the US is truly serious about diplomacy."
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had been expected in Pakistan after the White House said Iran asked for a second round of direct negotiations. But President Donald Trump cancelled the trip, declaring, "We have all the cards, they have none," while reiterating claims of "infighting and confusion" among Iran's leadership.
"If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!" Trump wrote online, placing the onus on Iran's leaders.
Amid a near-total internet shutdown approaching two months, Iranian officials and supporters of the Islamic Republic emphasize unity in opposing any concessions to Trump. The US president said this week he was in "no rush" to reach an agreement, claiming without evidence that Iranian leaders were "fighting like cats and dogs."
In response, military, security, judiciary, and government authorities have released synchronized messages with near-identical wording proclaiming absolute unity. The messages, circulated through state media with similar graphics and fonts but different colors, claim everyone in the country is "revolutionary" and exercises "complete obedience" to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
Authorities also claim over 30 million people—a third of Iran's population—have registered in a state-run campaign to "sacrifice" their lives if necessary, though no documentation has been provided.
The Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Saturday that armed forces would retaliate against the US if it continues its "blockade, banditry and piracy" in Iran's southern waters. "We are prepared to monitor enemy behavior and maintain control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, inflicting severe damages on American-Zionist enemies in case of another aggression," a statement read.
On Saturday, the IRGC took a state television presenter near two vessels seized days earlier in the strait to report that Iran exercised "total control" over the waterway.
Iranian authorities continue to call on supporters, including paramilitary forces, to take to the streets nightly to maintain control. At a rally in Tehran on Friday night, prominent state-backed religious singer Meysam Motiei told crowds that anyone stuck in factional infighting during war "has not grown up yet." "If anyone from any group or faction tries to disturb the unity of the people, they will get a slap in the face by the people," he said.
But in ultraconservative Mashhad, some still preached aggressively against the possibility of former reformist and moderate leaders retaking power. "They have instructed us to keep unity with incumbent officials, not these two people," a speaker told a gathering, referring to former President Hassan Rouhani and his foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif. "We are not afraid of B-2s and B-52s; we are afraid of dishonourables who have no concern for the homeland. Wherever Trump makes a mess, Zarif comes and blabbers away."
Iran's judiciary continues to execute dissidents. On Saturday, it announced the hanging of Erfan Kiani, arrested during nationwide protests in January when thousands were killed. He was described as "Mossad's hired knife-wielder" and accused of destroying property and arson.
No nuclear talks?
Iranian state media reports indicate that the US naval blockade is undermining the ceasefire extended by Trump, allowing hardline voices to dominate. Tasnim and Fars news agencies, affiliated with the IRGC, argued against allowing nuclear negotiations with the US, even though Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu started the war with the goal of preventing a nuclear-armed Iran. Tehran stresses its nuclear program is peaceful, though some leaders have called for developing a bomb.
"The negotiations with the US are strictly to end the war, and Iran does not consider the nuclear issue to be part of the talks," Tasnim said, claiming time was not on Washington's side due to global market turmoil.
Supreme Leader Khamenei has not directly commented on more negotiations, but Ali Khezrian, a representative in the hardline-dominated parliament, told state media Thursday that Khamenei was "opposed to any extension of negotiations" under US and Israeli threats.
Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz this week adopted Trump's apocalyptic messaging, saying armed forces await a greenlight from the US to "return Iran to the age of darkness and stone by blowing up central energy and electricity facilities and crushing national economic infrastructure." Three US aircraft carriers are currently in the region.