Iran Top Diplomat Says Country May Rejoin Islamabad Peace Talks

The Iranian president's comments came as his US counterpart, President Donald Trump, threatened to continue the bombing campaign that has so far killed more than 3,300 Iranians – and displaced millions – if the current two-week ceasefire expires Wednesday evening without an agreement to end the war.

“Lots of bombs start going off,” Trump told PBS News when asked what happens if the ceasefire lapses without a deal.

Trump's remarks came after he warned that if Iranian leaders don't accept his administration's terms for an end to the war,“the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran.”

Experts have said Trump's threats are themselves war crimes even if he doesn't follow through with the attacks on civilian infrastructure, which is protected under international law.

Also on Monday, Trump said his own energy secretary, former fracking executive Chris Wright, was incorrect when he said gasgas prices may not get below $3 per gallon until next year.

In a Sunday interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, Wright was asked when Americans could expect to see gas prices fall significantly after they spiked to over $4 per gallon on average nationwide because of Trump's war with Iran.

“I don't know,” Wright responded.“That could happen later this year. That might not happen until next year.”

In an interview with The Hill on Monday, Trump said Wright was“totally wrong” about the projection, and insisted that gas prices would plummet“as soon as” the war ends.

Despite Trump's claims that gas prices will come down rapidly after the end of the war, The New York Times reported on Monday that the negative effects of Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has choked off roughly 20% of global petroleum shipments, is just starting to be felt.

The impact of the strait's closure is being felt most acutely in East Asia, where oil supply shortages are having a ripple effect that is likely to spread throughout the world if the strait remains closed for much longer.

“Even if there is a peace deal soon,” the Times reported,“the future... will likely include months of canceled flights, surging food prices, factory pauses, delayed shipments and empty shelves for products long considered quick and easy to buy worldwide: plastic bags, instant noodles, vaccines, syringes, lipstick, microchips and sportswear.”

The Times added that“even if the Strait of Hormuz stabilizes tomorrow, it could take years for oil and gas output and shipping to reach fat prewar levels.”