Trump Warns of Bombing Iran If No Progress in Pakistan Talks, Accuses China of Supplying Weapons

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he expects the US to be bombing Iran again soon if no progress is made in the second round of negotiations set to take place in Pakistan on Wednesday. "I expect to be bombing because that would be a better attitude," he said in an interview with CNBC, saying he was against extending the ceasefire, which expires on Wednesday, because "We don't have that much time." "We're going to end up with a great deal. I think they have no choice," Trump said, "We're in a very, very strong negotiating position." A US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance was expected to leave Washington for Islamabad shortly, where earlier this month it had hosted a first round of talks that ended without progress. That comes after two regional officials told the AP news agency that a second round of peace talks between the US and Iran will resume on Wednesday. Officials said that "Pakistan-led mediators" received confirmation that the US delegation and the Iranian team, headed by parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, are expected to arrive in Islamabad early on Wednesday. Trump is demanding Iran give up its uranium stockpile and end attempts to control the strategic Hormuz waterway used to transport Middle East oil and other commodities. Despite being hit by weeks of US and Israeli bombing before a temporary ceasefire was declared, Iran has so far refused those conditions. "We're going to end up with a great deal. I think they have no choice...We're in a very, very strong negotiating position," Trump said. Asked if he would carry out his previous threats to bomb Iran's bridges and power plants, something many analysts say could constitute war crimes, Trump said "it's not my choice but it will also hurt them." He said the US had intercepted a ship carrying a "gift" to Iran from China as Tehran tries to restock its military during the ceasefire. The ship had "a gift from China" which "wasn't very nice," Trump said. "I was a little surprised," he added, saying he thought he had an "understanding" with China's President Xi Jinping. A week ago, Trump announced that Xi had assured him there would be no Chinese weapons deliveries to Iran, a close partner with Beijing for years. Growing uncertainty Tehran and Washington have accused each other of breaching the two-week truce as uncertainty grows over a push to stop the war from resuming. During initial talks in Pakistan earlier this month, the highest-level discussions between the foes since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979, analysts pointed to the seniority of the delegations as an indicator of a willingness to strike a deal. But those talks collapsed without an agreement, with Iran since closing the Strait of Hormuz again, and US President Donald Trump announcing a blockade of Iranian ports. The White House said Vice President JD Vance was ready to fly back to Islamabad to lead the US delegation, which would also include Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner. The talks were initially planned to take place in Islamabad on Monday, but were disrupted after Iran announced its withdrawal, partly prompted by the US seizure of an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel en route to a port on Sunday. The US Navy said the ship had not complied with its warnings and was attempting to evade its blockade of Iranian ports. The blockade came into effect last week in response to Iran's closing of the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of the war on 28 February, which sent oil prices spiralling worldwide. Iran said the naval blockade of its ports is a violation of the ceasefire agreement, which the US refutes. Trump insisted that the US Navy will continue to enforce it until Iran reopens the strategic waterway it controls to maritime traffic, without conditions. Tehran also said it refused to engage in any diplomatic efforts under the threat of attack, after Trump, in various posts on social media over the last few days, vowed to intensify the fighting and "blow up" the entire country if it fails to enter into a deal with Washington. "Trump, by imposing a siege and violating the ceasefire, seeks to turn this negotiating table — in his own imagination — into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering," wrote Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on X on Monday. "We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and in the past two weeks, we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield," he added.