The negotiation gap between US President Donald Trump and the Islamic Regime in Iran is too wide to narrow in time for Trump's 8 p.m. Tuesday deadline, The Wall Street Journal cited US officials as saying on Monday.
Further, negotiators in the process are "pessimistic that Iran will bend to meet Trump's demand to reopen the Strait of Hormuz" before the deadline, with Trump threatening that he will strike Iranian bridges and power plants in a further escalation of Operation Epic Fury if this agreement is not achieved.
While administration officials from Vice President JD Vance to Middle East spy chiefs are pushing for a ceasefire with Iran, Iranian officials are telling mediators that they expect Trump to escalate a bombing campaign if an agreement is not reached, US officials and mediators have said, according to WSJ.
However, Trump could also extend the deadline, which he has also done previously, the outlet noted.
Meanwhile, Iranian officials reportedly told mediators that they expect the US and Israel to continue to attack senior Iranian regime leaders and other targets, even in the event that negotiations progress, Arab officials familiar with the matter said, according to the WSJ.
Trump, in a Monday press conference at the White House, stated that Iran is "negotiating, we think, in good faith," and that the US would be "blowing everything up" if it believed that the Islamic regime was not.
Some US officials have said that Trump privately is less hopeful that Iran will make a deal and expects to issue orders for widespread airstrikes on Tuesday evening, according to the report.
"Only President Trump knows what he will do, and the entire world will find out tomorrow night if bridges and electric plants are annihilated," White House spokesperson Anna Kelly was cited as saying.
Iran rejected a US ceasefire approval, claiming that the US was seeking "maximalist concessions, including on its nuclear work," WSJ reported, adding that Trump later told reporters that Tehran's counteroffer during negotiations was not enough to secure an agreement at this point.
Trump's undertaking of airstrikes against the Islamic Regime both in June 2025 and February 2026, both of which took place after a breakdown in negotiations, has made Iranian officials skeptical that the president is serious about negotiations, WSJ reported.
Iran concerned that Israel will continue to strike regardless of negotiation progress
The Iranian officials also reportedly expressed concerns that Israel has continued to strike Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip even following the ceasefire, with Tehran expecting Israel to continue targeting senior Iranian leaders even if negotiations proceed, according to the report. Israel denies that the strikes on Hamas leaders are a breach of the ceasefire, given the Gazan terror group's continued terror activities threatening IDF soldiers operating in the area.
However, US officials have refuted this, stating that if Iran had shown a serious desire to end its nuclear program, then Washington would not have conducted airstrikes in February, according to the report.
Additionally, the US would end up facing "significant hurdles" in getting Tehran to agree to a ceasefire, as the Islamic regime perceives its current situation as existential, with survival at stake, thinking it retains leverage over Washington via blocking maritime and energy transit through the Strait of Hormuz, applying global economic pressure.
Further, escalating operations against Iran carries risks for the US, including strengthening the regime's resolve against genuine negotiations and prolonging the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, according to the WSJ.
Thus, Trump is seeking to end the war, according to US officials, as he realizes that the American public has a limited appetite for continued military operations. Additionally, members of the Republican Party have been telling Trump that they are fearful that rising gas prices, which have gone against the president's campaign promises, could damage their chances in November's midterm congressional elections, the WSJ wrote.