US President Donald Trump declared on Monday that Washington would either reach an agreement with Tehran or “finish the job,” explicitly threatening to destroy Iran’s bridges and energy supply within hours. The Oval Office statement followed the conclusion of indirect US-Iran talks in Doha without any public sign of progress toward a permanent ceasefire, despite a 60-day truce that began in late May. Trump said he preferred a negotiated settlement to avoid affecting “91 million people,” but insisted that military action “won’t be tough to finish.” According to US officials, the warning was intended to reinforce Washington’s position that Iran must not acquire a nuclear weapon, with Trump separately describing the objective as securing “nuclear dust”—enriched material—rather than pursuing regime change.

Tehran’s immediate response, carried by state media, came from Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, who dismissed Trump’s threat as “delusional” and warned that Iran would “respond in another language” if not addressed with respect. The exchange unfolded as Iran held a week-long state funeral for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed in the opening US-Israeli strikes on 28 February. Rather than projecting weakness, the massive public ceremonies, according to regional observers, displayed a narrative of unity and defiance, with the Iranian embassy in Armenia stating that the US “neither has a civilisation, history, nor honour.”

The indirect talks, mediated by Qatar, were suspended for the funeral and are expected to resume after the ceremonies conclude on Thursday, 9 July. Sources familiar with the discussions, cited by regional media, indicate that the two days of technical negotiations in Doha focused on maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the unblocking of frozen Iranian financial assets—issues that both sides had previously claimed were resolved when they announced the provisional memorandum of understanding. The lack of headway on these points has deepened scepticism in European capitals about the durability of the ceasefire framework.

The 60-day truce was designed by Washington to revive diplomacy aimed at preventing Iran from developing a nuclear arsenal. With the funeral period ending, the next round of talks is expected to test whether the public threats and displays of resolve on both sides will give way to substantive bargaining over the terms of a longer-term settlement. Analysts in London note that the gap between Washington’s maximalist rhetoric and Tehran’s insistence on respect as a precondition for dialogue leaves little room for compromise, even as both governments face pressure to avoid a return to full-scale hostilities.