Vice President JD Vance and top US officials were expected to depart today for Islamabad, Pakistan, ahead of a potential second round of talks with Iran, according to sources. Iran’s foreign ministry earlier insisted there were no plans for talks “as of now.”
Meanwhile, oil prices rose sharply again as the Strait of Hormuz remains essentially closed. Iran has vowed to retaliate after the US Navy fired on and seized an Iranian cargo ship, “once the safety of the families and crew of the vessel” is ensured, according to state media.
As the US and Iran squabble ahead of another potential round of talks, the looming expiration of a two-week ceasefire between the two nations is creating pressure to find a resolution.
As of now, the truce — which Trump announced April 7 — is set to end Tuesday evening ET. Officials have not said whether it expires at exactly the time Trump announced it (6:32 p.m. ET) or at midnight. Either time would be Wednesday morning, April 22, in Iran.
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:
“If there’s no deal, fighting resumes,” he said definitively at one point.
Credit: cnn.com
