United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he does not “want to extend ceasefire” with Iran, adding that America is “ready to go, militarily”, CNBC News reported.
In an interview with the news channel, Trump said “we don’t have that much time”.
The two-week ceasefire in West Asia, which took effect on April 8, will end on Wednesday.
Trump added that the US was negotiating from a position of strength and would “end up with a great deal”.
Earlier in the day, Iranian state television reported that no delegation from Tehran has left for Pakistan yet to hold peace talks with the US.
“So far, no delegation from Iran has departed for Islamabad, Pakistan, whether it is the main or subsidiary delegation, primary or secondary,” state TV said.
This came amid continuing uncertainty about whether fresh talks to end the war will take place between the two countries. On Monday, Iranian broadcaster IRIB said that Tehran had no plans to participate in the second round of negotiations with the US in Pakistan.
On Tuesday, Iran’s Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the person expected to lead the country’s delegation said that Tehran does “not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats”.
Ghalibaf also accused US President Donald Trump of “imposing a siege and violating the ceasefire”.
He claimed that Trump sought to “turn this negotiating table – in his own imagination – into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering”.
On Monday, Trump said that his country will not lift its blockade on Iranian ports until Tehran agrees to a peace deal to end the war in West Asia.
“The blockade, which we will not take off until there is a ‘deal,’ is absolutely destroying Iran,” Trump claimed on social media. “They are losing $500 million dollars a day, an unsustainable number, even in the short run.”
The war
The US and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28, claiming that Tehran’s action posed an existential threat to Israel. Washington acts as a guarantor of Israel’s security. Iran retaliated by striking Israel and US military bases in the region and targeting major cities in Gulf countries.
On April 8, Washington and Tehran agreed to a two-week ceasefire to allow further negotiations to end the conflict. While Israel, which was not involved in the talks, has not struck Iran since the ceasefire took effect, it had continued to attack Lebanon until the deal reached on Thursday.
The peace talks between Iran and the US that were held in Islamabad collapsed on April 12.
Israel has been claiming that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could alter the regional security balance. Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.
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