Trump declares Iran cease-fire extension with peace talks in doubt
Trump said he would continue the U.S. Navy's blockade of Iran's trade by sea, considered an act of war by Iran.
· L'Orient TodayU.S. President Donald Trump said he would indefinitely extend the cease-fire with Iran to allow for further peace talks, although it was not clear on Wednesday if Iran or Israel would agree.
Trump said in a statement on social media that the U.S. had agreed to a request by Pakistani mediators "to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal ... and discussions are concluded, one way or the other."
Pakistan's leaders have hosted peace talks in Islamabad to end the war triggered by joint U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, which, since Feb. 28, have killed thousands of people. The ensuing regional conflict has also shaken the global economy, namely gas and oil prices.
But even as he announced what appeared to be a unilateral cease-fire extension, Trump said he would continue the U.S. Navy's blockade of Iran's trade by sea, considered an act of war by Iran.
There was no response early on Wednesday to Trump's announcement from senior Iranian officials, although some initial reactions from Tehran suggested Trump's comments were being treated skeptically.
Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, said Iran had not asked for a cease-fire extension and repeated threats to break the U.S. blockade by force.
An adviser to Iran's lead negotiator, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said Trump's announcement carried little weight and may be a ploy.
Trump's wartime rhetoric has veered between extremes. In an expletive-filled threat against Iran only two weeks ago, he promised that a "whole civilization will die tonight," while at other times he has appeared keen to end the violence and market uncertainty.
With his announcement, Trump again pulled back at the last moment from his threats to bomb Iran's power plants and bridges. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and others have condemned those threats, noting international humanitarian law forbids attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Peace talks uncertain
Trump said in his statement he was willing to extend the cease-fire because "the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so." U.S.-Israeli attacks killed some of the country's leaders in the war's first weeks, including the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was succeeded by his son.
A few hours before his announcement, Trump had told the CNBC news channel that he was not inclined to continue the temporary truce and the U.S. military was "raring to go."
Those comments came as tentatively scheduled peace talks in Islamabad seemed on the verge of falling apart. U.S. Vice President JD Vance, whose presence was requested by Iran, had planned to return to Pakistan on Tuesday, but a White House official said he had not yet departed Washington and was taking part in additional policy meetings.
Before Trump's latest announcement, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran's negotiators had been willing to attend another round of talks if the U.S. abandoned a policy of pressure and threats, and rejected negotiations aimed at surrender.
Iran condemned the U.S. Navy intercepting and seizing two commercial Iranian ships at sea as part of its blockade, the second earlier on Tuesday, with its foreign ministry accusing the U.S. of "piracy at sea and state terrorism."
The U.S., joined by multiple other countries, has condemned Iran for impeding freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Hours after extending the cease-fire, Trump doubled down on the U.S. blockade, saying in a social media post that lifting it would undermine any chance of a peace deal "unless we blow up the rest of their Country, their leaders included."
A first session of talks 10 days ago produced no agreement, with much of the focus on Iran's stockpiles of enriched uranium.
Trump claims he wants to take the uranium out of Iran to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran has repeatedly said it has only a peaceful civilian nuclear program and a sovereign right to continue as a signatory to the nuclear weapons non-proliferation treaty.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has for decades sought to oust Iran's leadership, but Trump has given shifting and sometimes contradictory rationales for joining Israel to launch the war and how he foresees it ending, stirring confusion in global markets.
U.S. stock futures rose, the dollar wavered, and oil prices turned lower on Wednesday after Trump's announcement.
U.S.-Israeli attacks have killed over 5,000 civilians in Iran. Retaliatory strikes by Iran on Gulf countries have killed a dozen others, as well as U.S. army personnel stationed there.
Hezbollah joined the war from Lebanon on March 2 by launching attacks on Israel. Since then, Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed over 2,454 people and displaced a million others. A cease-fire between the two came into effect on April 17.
The war has also led to the virtual closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint in global energy markets between Iran and Oman, sending oil prices soaring and raising fears that the global economy could enter a recession.
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