The American newspaper Wall Street Journal reported today, Tuesday, citing officials in the region, that Tehran has halted direct diplomatic communications with Washington after President Donald Trump threatened to completely destroy Iranian civilization.
The officials said that this move temporarily obstructed efforts to reach an agreement by the deadline set by Trump at 8 PM Eastern Time today, Tuesday, but it did not end the talks.
For its part, the "New York Times" quoted three senior Iranian officials confirming that Iran has stopped negotiation efforts with the United States and informed Pakistan that it will no longer participate in ceasefire talks.
Earlier today, Trump renewed his threat to Iran before the deadline he had given it to reach an agreement, this evening Eastern Time, early Wednesday Iran Time.
Trump said in a post on the "Truth Social" platform: "An entire civilization will perish tonight, and will never return. I don't want this to happen, but it will most likely happen."
He continued: "However, now that a radical and comprehensive change of the regime has been achieved, where different, smarter, and less extreme minds prevail, something revolutionary and amazing might happen, who knows? We'll know tonight, in one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the world. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death will finally end. God bless the great people of Iran."
A senior Iranian source told Reuters, after Trump's statement, that Pakistan continues to relay messages between Tehran and Washington, but the United States has not changed its tone yet, confirming that "there are no negotiations with America which wants Iran to succumb to the pressure."
The source added that Tehran "will show flexibility when it sees flexibility from the American side," emphasizing that what Washington wants is to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which "will not happen in exchange for empty promises."
He also warned that the situation getting out of control might push Iran's allies to close the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb, threatening international navigation.
The source indicated that Qatar has conveyed an Iranian message to the United States regarding threats to strike power stations, warning that any American attack on these facilities would lead to "plunging the entire region, including Saudi Arabia, into complete darkness."
