New Threats Dampen Prospects for Peace Deal With Iran

A new exchange of bloodcurdling social media threats between President Trump and Iran’s supreme leader is demonstrating how hard it will be for the Islamic Republic and America to negotiate a mutually agreed end to their war.It was not immediately clear how the threats might impact the latest efforts to restore calm in the Strait of Hormuz, which included phone calls to Iranian and Qatari leaders by Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, and a trip to Oman by Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi.Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, delivered the latest threat with a Saturday post on his Telegraph account, in which he pledged to avenge his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose death in an airstrike at the outset of the war was being mourned in Iran this week.“We pledge to avenge the blood of the martyred leader and all the martyrs of these two wars from the criminal and disgraced killers,” Ayatollah Khamenei was quoted as saying by Middle Eastern and other media outlets.“This vengeance is the will of our nation and must inevitably be carried out,” he continued. “These criminals — of whom we have a complete list from top to bottom — will take with them to their graves the wish for a peaceful death in bed,” added the ayatollah, who has not appeared in public since the start of the war on February 28 and is believed to have been severely injured.Mr. Trump had issued his own threat just before midnight, reacting on his Truth Social account to recent reports that Iran is plotting to assassinate him.“1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!,” Mr. Trump wrote.“Orders have already been given, and the U.S. Military is ready, willing, and able, for a one year period of time, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran – PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!”The Wall Street Journal initially reported on Thursday that Israel had shared intelligence with the United States that showed Iran was considering a new plan to assassinate the president.The Times of Israel quoted Israel’s Channel 12 saying the information passed to Washington had concerned a general discussion about a possible assassination rather than any specific plot.The report also quoted unidentified American officials saying they believed Israel shared the information in a bid to improve strained relations between Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It noted that Iran had been publicly threatening to kill Mr. Trump since at least 2020.A 60-day ceasefire between America and Iran broke down in recent days over an exchange of air strikes that began with Iranian attacks on ships seeking to pass through the Hormuz Strait on a southern route, far from its shores.Mr. Trump declared Friday that America would continue trying to negotiate a permanent peace with Iran but said Tehran had been notified “in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!”Pakistan’s Mr. Sharif, who has been a key mediator in the on-and-off peace talks, worked Friday to try to get the negotiations back on track.Qatari media reported that Mr. Sharif and Qatar’s leader, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, had discussed “the diplomatic efforts and talks between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran, underscoring the need to continue efforts aimed at de-escalation and settling differences through peaceful means.”In a phone call with President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran, Mr. Sharif expressed his “deep concern” over the escalation of tensions between America and Iran, according to Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper. The statement said the prime minister also “underscored the urgent need to restore regional peace and stability.”In Oman on Saturday, Mr. Araghchi was understood to be seeking to coordinate measures to oversee traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which runs between their countries. Iran has been insisting that ships pass through on its side of the strait and has attacked ships passing on the Omani side.

New Threats Dampen Prospects for Peace Deal With Iran

New Threats Dampen Prospects for Peace Deal With Iran

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