US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he is highly unlikely to extend the ceasefire with Iran if an agreement is not reached before it expires this week.
In a telephone interview, according to Bloomberg report, Trump said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until a peace agreement is reached, adding, “They want me to open the Strait. They very much want it opened. I’m not going to open it until a deal is signed.”
He added, “I’m not going to rush into a bad deal. We have all the time in the world,” noting that the truce he declared on April 7 will end Wednesday evening, Eastern Time.
Trump warns strikes may resume
When asked whether he expected airstrikes to resume immediately afterward if no agreement was reached, Trump said, “If there’s no agreement, I would certainly expect strikes.”
In a phone call with PBS News on Monday morning, Trump said that if the ceasefire with Iran ended, “a lot of bombs would start going off.”
He also told Bloomberg on Tuesday morning that he did not believe it would be necessary for him to attend the talks in person.
US Central Command announced on the X platform that as of Tuesday morning, American forces had returned 27 vessels to and from Iranian ports.
