US President Donald Trump said he now considers the ceasefire with Iran over “Wednesday evening Washington time” but that it’s “highly unlikely” he would extend it further if a deal is not reached.
It’s “highly unlikely that I’d extend it” Trump told Bloomberg in a phone interview. The ceasefire was originally slated to last two weeks and began the evening of April 7.
“I’m not going to be rushed into making a bad deal. We’ve got all the time in the world,” Trump said in the interview.
When asked if he would expect the fighting to resume immediately if they fail to reach an agreement, Trump said, “If there’s no deal, I would certainly expect.”
Previously, Trump has gone back and forth on whether he would agree to extend the ceasefire. In the course of one question-and-answer session with reporters last week, he was asked five separate times whether he would extend the ceasefire, and offered three different answers.
Meanwhile President Trump also said that Israel did not persuade him to attack Iran.
His comments came after news reports that Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu influenced the U.S. president’s decision, and criticism from right-wing commentators.
“Israel never talked me into the war with Iran, the results of Oct. 7th, added to my lifelong opinion that IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON, did,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
Trump also said “the results in Iran will be amazing” in the post.
“And if Iran’s new leaders (Regime Change!) are smart, Iran can have a great and prosperous future!” Trump wrote.
-- Agencies
