On Tuesday, April 21, President Trump announced that he would extend the ceasefire with Iran. However, the President emphasized that the US military will continue to enforce the blockade on Iran and remain in a state of readiness.
Trump made the announcement on his social media platform, Truth Social, stating, “Given the severe internal divisions within the Iranian government (which is not surprising), and at the request of Pakistani Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, we have been asked to suspend military actions against Iran until their leaders and representatives can present a unified plan.”
“Therefore, I have instructed our troops to continue the blockade of Iran and maintain readiness in all other aspects, and extend the ceasefire until their proposal is submitted and discussed to completion,” Trump said.
This announcement by Trump comes as the deadline for the US-Iran ceasefire is approaching. According to the Pakistani mediation, the US-Iran ceasefire is set to end at 4:50 a.m. on Wednesday (Pakistan time), which corresponds to 7:50 p.m. Tuesday in Washington. However, President Trump told the media on Monday that the ceasefire would end in the evening of Wednesday Washington time.
During an interview with Fox News last Sunday, April 19, Trump revealed the internal strife within Iran. “There are some conflicts between the moderate and radical factions in Iran. There are no winners yet,” the President said.
The US delegation led by Vice President Pence, originally planned to travel to Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, on Tuesday for negotiations with Iran. However, the Iranian side has not confirmed their participation thus far.
According to US media reports, Pence, Secretary of Defense Hagsees, and Secretary of State Rubio went to the White House on Tuesday to participate in a series of meetings to discuss the next steps.