‘Iran has new cards on battlefield’

TEHRAN – Iran’s parliamentary Speaker says that Tehran is preparing ‘new cards on the battlefield’ if fighting with the US resumes.

A ceasefire between the two countries is due to expire today – US President Donald Trump says an extension is ‘highly unlikely’.

US media reported that Vice-President JD Vance would travel to Pakistan yesterday, but Tehran hasn’t confirmed it will send a delegation for talks in Islamabad. Driving through Pakistan’s capital, there are still security checkpoints and ‘Islamabad Talks’ posters lining streets, but there’s also a lot of uncertainty, our correspondent writes.

While in Tehran, there is concern that negotiations will result in demands made of Iranians that they are not ready to meet, our chief international correspondent reports.

Meanwhile, China’s President Xi Jinping says ‘normal traffic’ through the Strait of Hormuz ‘should be maintained’ Many inside Iran, including defenders of the Islamic Republic, are urging people to tighten their belts and prepare for even greater economic hardship. The question is, can the Iranian Government pay its employees if the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz continues? Can Tehran afford to abandon negotiations? Before the conflict, sanctions, inflation and currency depreciation had driven many households into an economy of survival, with families spending only on essential needs.

Now, shuttered businesses and bounced cheques, along with damaged petrochemical, steel and aluminium industries have intensified recessionary pressures.