U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday a new round of peace talks with Iran is “possible” within the next 36 to 72 hours, a report said, a day after he announced an extension of a ceasefire with the Islamic Republic to allow for diplomatic efforts to continue.
The New York Post reported that sources in Pakistan touted positive mediation efforts with Tehran, renewing the possibility of additional negotiations within the next 36 to 72 hours, and that Trump said in a text message, “It’s possible! President DJT.” DJT is short for Trump’s full name.
On the eve of the ceasefire deadline set for Wednesday (Washington time), Trump said that at the request of Pakistan, he will extend the ceasefire until Iran submits a “unified proposal,” and bilateral discussions are “concluded, one way or the other.” He called the Tehran government “seriously fractured.”
But Iran’s state television reported that the country does not recognize the ceasefire announced by Trump, and will act in accordance with its national interests -- a statement that added to uncertainty over the prospects of the negotiations aimed at ending the war.
Trump’s extension of the ceasefire was viewed by some as an indefinite one, but Axios reported, citing three U.S. officials, that the president is giving Iran a short window to come up with a coherent proposal to the U.S.
“Trump is willing to give another three to five days of ceasefire to allow the Iranians to get their shit together,” one official was quoted by Axios as saying. “It is not going to be open-ended.”
The Iranian government’s decision-making structure is reported to feature various competing voices between hard-liners, including those from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and moderate officials.
On Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance put his trip to Pakistan for a second round of talks with Iran on hold, as Iran did not respond to American demands, according to The New York Times.
The U.S. delegation includes Vance, Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Washington and Tehran held the first round of negotiations in the Pakistani capital on April 11 and 12. But the talks ended without a deal as the two sides failed to reconcile differences, including over a U.S. demand for Iran to make an “affirmative” commitment not to seek a nuclear weapon.
Source: Yonhap
--Agencies
