Kamal Ghorui
US President Donald Trump on Friday signaled a tough stance ahead of crucial talks with Iran, saying American warships are being rearmed and could be used, if talks in Pakistan fail to produce a deal.“We have a reset going. We’re loading up the ships with the best ammunition, the best weapons ever made, even better than what we did previously and we blew them apart,” Trump said in an interview with the New York Post.“And if we don’t have a deal, we will be using them, and we will be using them very effectively,” he added.Earlier, Trump also posted a cryptic message on Truth Social, stating, “WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL RESET!!!”The remarks come as US Vice President JD Vance travels to Islamabad to lead the American delegation in high-stakes talks with Iran. Vance struck a cautious tone, saying he hoped for a positive outcome but warned Tehran against testing Washington’s patience, as he departed for Islamabad in Pakistan to lead high-stakes negotiations.“We’re going to try to have a positive negotiation,” he said before departure. “If the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we’re certainly willing to extend the open hand. If they’re going to try to play us, then they’re going to find the negotiating team is not that receptive,” he added.He also said Trump had given “some pretty clear guidelines” for the talks, though he did not elaborate.The talks come after a two-week ceasefire was agreed following more than five weeks of conflict between the United States and Iran, but key differences between the two sides remain unresolved.Iran has said it will only begin formal negotiations once certain conditions are met, including a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of its frozen assets. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said these steps had been agreed upon earlier but were yet to be implemented.“Two of the measures mutually agreed upon between the parties have yet to be implemented: a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of Iran’s blocked assets prior to the commencement of negotiations,” Ghalibaf wrote on X, adding that, “These two matters must be fulfilled before negotiations begin.”Tehran has also accused Washington of violating parts of its 10-point proposal even before talks began, citing issues such as continued fighting in Lebanon, a drone incident over Fars province, and disputes over uranium enrichment rights. It described these as part of a pattern of “deep historical distrust,” warning that progress would remain difficult unless addressed.Trump on the other hand, on Thursday criticised Iran’s handling of maritime traffic, saying it was “doing a very poor job” of allowing oil tankers through, adding on social media, “That is not the agreement we have!”The upcoming talks in Islamabad are being seen as a crucial test of whether the fragile truce can hold or if tensions will escalate again.
