Iran's central military command warned on April 10 that its armed forces remain at full combat readiness and will not relinquish control of the Strait of Hormuz, issuing the statement hours before US and Iranian delegations are due to sit down for ceasefire negotiations in Islamabad.

The Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said, "The armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran remain in full readiness, just as during the third imposed war and 40 days and nights of asymmetric combat, with their hands on the trigger."

The command said it would "enter a new phase of managing the Strait of Hormuz" and "maintain the initiative for control of that strait and under no circumstances give up our legitimate rights," Tasnim reported.

The statement, issued "in compliance with the message" of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, warned Trump and Netanyahu to "review their humiliating defeat" and not threaten "the victorious, strong and heroic nation of Iran."

On Lebanon, the command issued a direct threat: "If the enemy continues its attacks on Hezbollah and the oppressed people of Lebanon, especially Dahiyeh, we will deliver a crushing and painful response."

The tone sits in sharp contrast to the diplomatic language coming from Pakistan, where preparations for Saturday's talks at Islamabad's Serena Hotel are under way. A 30-member US security team has already arrived, and more than 20 international journalists have been accredited.

US Vice President JD Vance will lead the American delegation. Iran has sent a top-level delegation, including Iranian Speaker of Parliament Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, who is in de facto control of the Islamic Republic, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who has been leading most of the negotiations to date. They were due to meet for direct talks with US Vice President JD Vance and US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Iran's 10-point proposal, which Trump has called "a workable basis on which to negotiate", demands Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz, the withdrawal of US combat forces from the region, the lifting of all sanctions and acceptance of Iran's right to uranium enrichment. Trump said on April 8 that "there will be no enrichment of uranium" and that US forces would remain deployed "until such time as the real agreement reached is fully complied with."

The military statement underlines the gap between what Iran's negotiators may discuss in Islamabad and what its armed forces intend to concede on the ground.

Iran has insisted that the ceasefire that was supposed to go into effect on April 8 includes a ceasefire in Lebanon. Hostilities against all Iran’s regional allies were to cease and were included in the ten-point list of demands released by Iran over the weekend and accepted by the Trump administration as the basis for peace talks.

However, Israel has claimed that Lebanon was not included in the deal and not only continued its military operations but mounted a murderous bombardment of Beirut and other cities throughout the country. Reportedly Israel dropped 100 bombs in a mere 10 minutes, targeting residential areas in Beirut in particular. Currently the death toll is calculated to be 300 with another thousand injured but that number is expected to rise as emergency services continue to dig through the rubble. According to the Lebanese health ministry 137 children also died in the attack on April 8.

The status of Lebanon and the ceasefire remains somewhat confused. Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Sharif, who acted as a mediator, explicitly confirmed that Lebanon was included in the initial 10-point draft; however, since then, US President Donald Trump has claimed that it wasn't included.

Next week, Washington is due to host talks between Israel and the Lebanese government on disarming Hezbollah and ending the conflict in that country. In the last two days, the government has ordered that only the Lebanese army has the right to bear arms in the capital in a direct challenge to Hezbollah’s power base, putting the country on a fault line between improving sovereignty and falling into civil war.

Tehran is insisting that the ceasefire include not just attacks in Iran but also attacks on its allies, including Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon. Following the rocket attacks on Israel on March 2, launched by Hezbollah, Israel launched a major military operation and is in the process of trying to capture and occupy all of the south up to the Litani River.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel would like to set up a buffer zone in the south and promised that the one million Lebanese displaced refugees – one out of five of the population -- return to their homes is impossible. Video released on social media shows Israeli forces are systematically destroying towns and villages, building by building, and have also blown up the main bridges across the Litani River that link the south to the north.

It is unclear if the ceasefire talks will go ahead this weekend. Trump has threatened “irreversible damage” to Iran's power sector last week if his demands were not met.