The ceasefire announced on April 7 by US President Donald Trump is just hours away from expiring. The truce is scheduled to end on Wednesday morning, April 22, Tehran time. In the last few hours, however, Trump himself announced on his social media account, Truth, that he had decided to extend the ceasefire "until the Iranian proposal is presented" and that "discussions will be concluded, one way or the other."

"Given that the Iranian government appears severely fragmented, a circumstance that is not unexpected, and in response to the request of Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan, we have been asked to suspend our attack on Iran until its leaders and representatives are able to formulate a unified proposal," Trump stated without setting a date, leading some observers to believe this is an indefinite ceasefire , signaling the president's desire to reach an agreement. Trump has ordered his "military forces to maintain the blockade and otherwise remain ready and operational; accordingly, I will extend the ceasefire until their proposal is presented and discussions are concluded, one way or the other."

And right on the deadline, the Iranian negotiating delegation communicated to its US counterpart, through a Pakistani intermediary, that it will not be present in Islamabad and that there is currently no prospect of participating in the negotiations. The semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim reported this, citing sources who said that "in messages exchanged over the past few days, the US has not backed down from its excessive demands" and "no significant progress has been made. For this reason, Iran finally announced today that it considers participation in the negotiations a waste of time" and "therefore, will not participate." On the US side, as reported by the website Axios, Vice President J.D. Vance's trip to Pakistan has been "indefinitely postponed."

(Unioneonline)

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