President Donald Trump issued a fresh military threat against Iran on Sunday, saying U.S. forces are prepared to “finish up the little that is left of Iran” after marathon peace talks failed to clinch a deal to end more than six weeks of war.
U.S. officials left drawn-out negotiations in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, in the early hours of Sunday without a breakthrough or answers on what could come next after a temporary, two-week ceasefire expires. Trump announced the pause in attacks on April 7.
In a fresh statement on Sunday, Trump said negotiators had made progress on several points of contention between the two countries during roughly 20 hours of talks, but had not agreed on limits to Iran’s nuclear program.
The president also said the U.S. would block any ships traveling through the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane—which Iran has effectively closed to most vessels since the start of the war—and the U.S. Navy would stop any that pay a toll to Tehran for passage through the waterway.
Trump has previously warned Iran against attempting to charge vessels for safe transit through the strait.
Ships have been unable to travel unscathed through the waterway since early March, sending oil and gas prices spiking and global markets into disarray as concerns over fuel supplies rippled. Around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas normally travels through the strait.
The president said on Sunday other nations would support the American blockade but did not specify further.
Rounding off a lengthy message on Truth Social, Trump added: “We are fully “LOCKED AND LOADED,” and our Military will finish up the little that is left of Iran.”
Iran’s nuclear program and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz had been the two thorniest issues on the table for this weekend’s talks, the most significant direct negotiations between Tehran and Washington since the 1979 Islamic Revolution brought the current clerical regime to power in Iran.
Vice President JD Vance was joined by Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Departing from Pakistan, Vance told reporters the U.S. had presented its “best and final” offer, and it was the U.S.’ “core goal” to make sure Iran wouldn’t seek to build a nuclear weapon.
The U.S. and Israel say it is unacceptable for Iran to be able to create nuclear weapons, and the joint attacks since February 28 have targeted both nuclear sites across Iran and other weapons facilities.
American and Israeli strikes on the country in June 2025 also hit nuclear infrastructure. “There is only one thing that matters—IRAN IS UNWILLING TO GIVE UP ITS NUCLEAR AMBITIONS!” Trump said in a separate Truth Social message on Sunday.
Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, although international experts say Tehran has not met its obligations to be transparent about its nuclear development. A stockpile of around 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent, which is a short step from weapons-grade, is thought to be hidden in Iran.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the powerful speaker of Iran’s parliament, said the U.S. had “failed to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei told state television it was “natural” that complicated issues that have ensured decades of poor relations “could not be resolved” in under a day, according to a readout published by the country’s IRNA state news agency.
Update 4/12/202610:30 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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