US President Donald Trump says he doesn't care if Iran comes back to the negotiating table with the US.
This is happening to journalists at Joint Base Andrews air base near Washington D.C., writes the AFP news agency.
- I don't care if they (Iran, ed.) come back or not. If they don't come back, I'm fine, says Trump.
On Saturday, negotiations between the US and Iran began in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, with Pakistan acting as a mediator.
The Strait of Hormuz remains de facto closed
However, on Sunday both parties left Islamabad without an agreement. Both Iran and the US have subsequently accused each other of being the reason for the breakdown of the negotiations.
The parties agreed on a two-week ceasefire on Tuesday last week.
However, it quickly became clear how fragile the agreement was when Israel continued its attacks on Lebanon, while the Strait of Hormuz remained de facto closed.
Unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter told the Wall Street Journal, according to Reuters, that the United States is considering carrying out attacks against Iran again.
According to the sources, Trump and his advisers are considering resuming what they call limited military attacks against Iran to break the deadlock in the negotiations.
Reuters was not immediately able to confirm the sources' report.
Trump will initiate a blockade of Hormuz
On Sunday evening, the US military's Central Command, Centcom, announced that the US military will initiate a blockade of all ships to and from Iranian ports at 4 p.m. Danish time on Monday.
Earlier Sunday, Trump said the United States would begin a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps later announced Sunday that Iranian security forces have full control of the Strait of Hormuz.
The Strait of Hormuz is crucial for transporting oil and natural gas to the rest of the world. Under normal circumstances, 20 percent of the world's oil is shipped through the strait.
/ritzau/
