After returning home from cease-fire talks with the United States held in Islamabad, Pakistan, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, warned in connection with U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to blockade the Strait of Hormuz that Tehran would launch a strong response if U.S. provocations continue.

Ghalibaf, Iran’s head negotiator, posted on X on the 12th (local time) along with a map showing gas-station prices near the White House in Washington, saying, “Enjoy the current pump prices” and adding, “Because of the so-called ‘blockade,’ before long you will miss $4~5 gasoline (about 5,950~7,440 KRW).”

This is interpreted as a warning that a U.S. maritime blockade would trigger a global energy crisis and a surge in oil prices. As of that day, the average gasoline price in the United States had soared to $4.125 per gallon (about 6,130 KRW).

Ghalibaf expressed deep distrust of the United States to reporters that day. He said, “During a negotiating period of less than a year, the United States attacked us twice,” adding, “It is not we who must restore trust, but the United States.” He said, “The United States remains a debtor that still has to make immense efforts to make up for its past mistakes.”

As for the cause of the breakdown, he argued, “The Iranian delegation, together with experts, devised and presented ‘good-faith, creative proposals’ but we could not build trust due to the U.S. side’s lack of sincerity.” He added, “If the United States picks a fight, we will fight too, and if it comes with logic, we will respond with logic.”

Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister who accompanied the delegation to the talks, also issued a statement that day claiming the negotiations collapsed because of the United States. He said, “When we were close to signing the ‘Islamabad memorandum of understanding,’ we hit the reefs of excessive U.S. demands, ever-shifting goals, and the threat of a maritime blockade.” He went on to stress that Iran engaged in the talks in good faith to end the war, adding, “Goodwill begets goodwill, and hatred begets hatred.”

Immediately after the talks collapsed, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin to brief him on the status of the negotiations with the United States. According to the Iranian presidency, President Pezeshkian told Putin, “The biggest obstacle to reaching a fair agreement with the United States is Washington’s double standards and hegemonic attitude,” adding, “So long as the United States abides by the framework of international law, reaching an agreement is by no means impossible,” thus putting the ball in Washington’s court. Putin was reported to back Iran while criticizing the West’s double standards.

Analyses also suggest that President Trump’s vow to clear mines in the Strait of Hormuz would be difficult to realize. The New York Times (NYT), citing military officials, noted that the U.S. Navy would have to bear enormous costs and risks to human life. The situation has grown even more complicated because Iran has indiscriminately laid mines and does not itself know their exact locations.

The NYT reported that locating mines with sonar and having divers dismantle them is highly risky and time-consuming, and that a guided detonation method mimicking ship signals does not apply to some types of mines. The NYT analyzed, “Removing every mine would, in effect, mean destroying all of Iran’s civilian maritime infrastructure.”