The Middle East remained in tense limbo on Tuesday, a day after President Trump said he had postponed a major U.S. attack on Iran to give more time for diplomacy.
Iran did not immediately respond directly to Mr. Trump’s remarks. An Iranian Army spokesman, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Akraminia, warned on Tuesday that any renewed attack would prompt Iran to open “new fronts” using “new tools and methods,†according to IRNA, Iran’s state news agency.
For his part, Mr. Trump was vague when asked on Tuesday how long Iran had to return to the negotiating table. “Two or three days. Maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Maybe early next week. A limited period of time,” he told reporters.
“I hope we don’t have to do the war, but we may have to give them another big hit,†he added. “I’m not sure yet. You’ll know very soon.â€
As the monthlong cease-fire has come under increasing strain, Pakistan, a mediator in the conflict, has sought to keep indirect talks alive between Tehran and Washington. Iranian state media reported that Pakistan’s interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, had met Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, in Tehran on Monday evening, and discussed efforts to end the war.
The Pakistani government has not commented on the two-day trip, which reportedly started on Sunday. Mr. Naqvi is close to Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, who has been leading the country’s mediation efforts and speaking directly with Mr. Trump and Iranian officials, according to two people with knowledge of the negotiations, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.
Tasnim, a semiofficial Iranian news agency, described Mr. Naqvi’s visit to Tehran as part of Pakistan’s efforts to “facilitate dialogue and promote regional peace.â€
Mr. Trump said on Monday that he had authorized a “very major attack†against Iran for Tuesday, but had postponed it after the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates asked for more time to pursue an agreement over Iran’s nuclear program. He said there was a “very good chance†that a deal could be reached but that the U.S. military was prepared for a “full, large scale assault†if Iran did not agree to terms acceptable to Washington.
The episode was the latest example of Mr. Trump’s brinkmanship over Iran, in which threats of overwhelming force have repeatedly given way to last-minute pauses for diplomacy.
The spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, Majed al-Ansari, said at a news conference on Tuesday that his nation supported Pakistan’s mediation efforts but cautioned that nobody could predict whether they would succeed. He said that Mr. Trump’s decision to postpone any attack was a response to calls from Gulf leaders to give diplomacy “another chance.†Mr. al-Ansari added that communications were ongoing to “ensure there is no return to escalation.â€
On Tuesday, the United Arab Emirates said that its air defenses had intercepted six drones targeting the country in the last 48 hours.
The Emirati defense ministry also said that a drone attack on the country’s Barakah nuclear plant on Sunday had originated from Iraqi territory. Two of the drones were intercepted, the ministry added, while a third struck an electricity generator outside of the plant’s inner perimeter.
Negotiations have stalled over Iran’s nuclear program and the Strait of Hormuz, a critical transit point for oil and gas, which Iran has effectively closed since the early days of the war, rattling global energy markets.
State media in Iran reported on Tuesday that the country’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, had briefed members of Parliament on Tehran’s latest proposal to Washington. Mr. Gharibabadi said that the proposal included ensuring Iran’s right to enrich uranium, according to the report, suggesting that Tehran was holding firm on core demands that have proved to be nonstarters for the Trump administration.
Mr. Trump has demanded that any agreement prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
The war, now in its third month, has hit Iran hard, but U.S. military officials say that the government in Tehran has demonstrated its ability to impose heavy costs on the wider region and on the global economy.
Iran has used the cease-fire to dig out bombed ballistic missile sites, move mobile launchers and adjust its tactics for any resumption of strikes, according to a U.S. military official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters.
Ismaeel To and Leily Nikounazar contributed reporting.
