US President Donald Trump has said he does not want to extend the ceasefire agreement with Iran that expires on 22 April.
“I don’t want to do that. We don’t have a lot of time,” Trump said in a telephone interview with CNBC on 21 April when asked about the possibility of extending the ceasefire.
He added that the U.S. is in a strong negotiating position.
Meanwhile, the situation with a new round of talks between the US and Iran remains unclear. Washington has previously signalled that peace talks in Pakistan could go ahead soon, while Iran has not formally agreed.
“We do not accept negotiations under threats,” Mohammad Qalibaf, head of the Iranian delegation and speaker of the country’s parliament, said the previous day. In particular, Iran is demanding the release of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship taken under control by the US military, which is enforcing a naval blockade of Iran, in the Gulf of Oman on 19 April. Iran, in turn, has a de facto blockade of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has warned that the United States will resume attacks if an agreement with Iran is not reached soon, adding that the military is “ready for action” immediately and hinting that he expects to use the bombings as a means of pressure in further negotiations if diplomatic efforts again stall.