The 21st of April was a day of desperate diplomacy at the White House, with an Air Force plane ready to take off to take US Vice President JD Vance to Islamabad to continue peace talks with Iran, writes the BBC.
However, the plane never took off, and the talks have been postponed. US President Donald Trump announced that he would extend the ceasefire with Iran (which was due to end on the evening of the 22nd of April) to allow the Tehran regime to make an offer to end the war. Meanwhile, Trump himself, while the world waited to see if the end of the war was near, was weighing his options. His decision marks the second time in two weeks that he has backed down from a threat to raze Iran to the ground, buying more time to resolve the conflict.
Vance has not yet officially announced his trip to Islamabad. Iran has not committed to peace talks, leaving Washington with a difficult choice about whether to send Vance to the Pakistani capital if it is not known whether the other side will attend.
As the evening of April 21st approached, signs began to emerge that the peace talks were being postponed. Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner arrived in Washington from Miami instead of immediately going to Pakistan. Vance arrived at the White House shortly after, and further action was discussed. Eventually, Trump announced on his social network “Truth Social” that the ceasefire was being extended. He indicated that
the decision was made at the request of Pakistan, which is acting as a mediator in the peace talks.
This time, Trump did not specify the specific duration of the ceasefire. When he first announced the ceasefire in April, the US president set a two-week deadline.
James Jeffrey, a former US ambassador to Iran and Turkey, said there is no clear formula for ending the wars. He added that Trump is not the first US president to threaten to escalate hostilities while making a good offer.
Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire extension was more measured than the threats he has made to Iran in recent weeks. In a way, it shows that the US president wants to end a war he started that has shaken the international economy and angered even his own supporters. Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, said it was a pragmatic decision based on clear cracks in the Iranian regime’s leadership. At the same time, Katulis stressed, Trump’s decision has also deepened uncertainty about how long the war will last.
The extension of the ceasefire gives the US and Iran more time to develop a plan for lasting peace,
but big questions remain unanswered. Iran has called the US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz an act of war. While Trump has chosen not to resume direct hostilities, he has not expressed a desire to end the naval blockade. Americans had hoped that the blockade would force Tehran to make concessions, but that has not happened, and Trump is left with few options other than resuming hostilities.
Iran, meanwhile, has made it clear that it does not want to end its nuclear program or stop supporting militant groups in the Middle East. These are two of the main US demands for peace. So for now, all Trump has gained is time.
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