‘Iran’s Deadline Expires Today’: Tehran Threatens Renewed Attacks As Blockade Bites, Rial Collapses

The Iran conflict is currently in an all too familiar stalemate, and many of the same statements are being regurgitated from each side – but this does indicate that negotiations have not yet entirely collapsed.

Tehran is still apparently reviewing a Trump administration counterproposal to last week’s Iranian seven day ceasefire pitch (which Trump had promptly rejected). Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had confirmed Wednesday the reception of an official US response through mediators.

President Masoud Pezeshkian on Thursday proclaimed Iran “has never avoided” dialogue with the United States despite being attacked three times when negotiations were happening. Still, the Iranians have frequently emphasized they do not trust President Trump.

Pezeshkian told a meeting of entrepreneurs that the government is “seriously seeking to resolve all issues and problems related to the business sector,” as cited in Tasnim news. This comes as the Iranian rial has hit new record lows this week against the dollar.

“We have never avoided dialogue and will not do so, although the United States targeted our country three times. There is good coordination and synergy among the heads of state and everyone is seeking to resolve problems and shortcomings,” Pezeshkian said. 

This is also as the US naval blockade is biting, with reports suggesting Iranian crude exports through the Strait of Hormuz stands at near zero for the month of September.

Pezeshkian told the meeting that due to “restrictions at sea,” the country is desperately seeking to widen import-export avenues via land with Pakistan, Iraq, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.

As for the US President, Trump has just reiterated to TIME that he may be escalating attacks on Iran after the November midterms if an acceptable deal can’t be reached.

“Because by annihilating Iran, we’ve created peace in the world,” he said. “With Iran, I don’t think you could ever have peace.”

At this point it is hard to keep track of just how many times he has proclaimed ‘annihilating’ Iran. Of course, if Iran has been annihilated, one wonders why Washington still sees it as a threat. The TIME interview has some interesting lines:

In Trump’s telling, he is simply doing what has to be done, even when that means breaking foundational promises to his voters. He campaigned as a president of peace, but is now waging a war he says was necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. He points to Venezuela, where his removal of Nicolás Maduro and the elevation of Delcy Rodríguez have brought the country into Washington’s orbit, as proof that his projection of U.S. power can produce results.

…Except the ‘Venezuela model’ of quick in and out military intervention has not at all worked with Iran, which has produced a seven-month and counting little excursion quagmire.

After the Epic Fury major bombing campaign didn’t collapse the government, the US administration is seeking to do so through all-out economic war and strangulation:

Operation Economic Outcast has caused the rial to hit record lows. We will continue to degrade the Iranian regime’s ability to fund terrorism and develop a nuclear weapon. pic.twitter.com/7XRpqKa2a7

— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) September 28, 2026

TIME further recounts, “By Trump’s own timeline, the war with Iran was supposed to be over already, with a new regime in place and a nuclear program throttled.“

“But the Islamic Republic had proved resilient and resourceful, choking off oil through the Strait of Hormuz and sending tremors through the global economy,” the report underscores.

Separately, University of Chicago political scientist Robert Pape has warned that Oct.1st could mark a new phase in the conflict. He writes that “Iran’s 45-day deadline to the United States expired today.“

“On August 16, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council decided that if Washington did not lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports within 45 days, Tehran would retain the option of launching renewed attacks against U.S. forces,” Pape underscores. “That clock has now run out.”

According to more on this prior deadline from Iran Wire:

Consensus within Tehran suggests low expectations for U.S. acceptance of these terms [Iran's conditions communicated to the US side last week]. Strategic advisor Mohammadi noted: “It is highly unlikely that Trump will submit to these conditions.” According to a report by Kyodo News, the Supreme National Security Council determined on August 16 that if the U.S. failed to lift port blockades within 45 days, Iran would reserve the right to resume strikes against U.S. forces. Current developments suggest Tehran has given Washington a seven-day window, bringing the region closer to a critical juncture amid limited prospects for genuine peace talks.

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf mocked U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent with a satirical equation suggesting Washington, not Tehran, is running out of time.

The post responded to Bessent’s claim that Iran could have “nothing left to trade” within two… https://t.co/k0JwBjeQWc

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) October 1, 2026

Pape concludes of the broad and unpredictable situation: “This is the Escalation Trap in its purest form. Washington’s strategy has been to increase pressure until Iran accepts American terms. Iran’s response has been to increase the cost of American pressure. Now the two strategies are colliding at a deadline.” Iranian state media has on Oct.1st strongly signaled that national forces are ready for new confrontation and escalation.