Trump rules out ceasefire extension, says the US will end up with a great deal with Iran

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday stated that he ‌did not want to extend a ceasefire with Iran and added that the US was in a ​strong negotiating position and would end ​up with a great ⁠deal. "I don't want to do that. ​We don't have that much time," ​Trump said when asked about the possibility of extending the ceasefire during an interview with CNBC.

“I do not want to extend the ceasefire. I think we are going to end up with a great deal. They have no choice,” he said. In the meanwhile, Washington expressed confidence that talks ​with Iran will go ahead in ​Pakistan, and a senior Iranian official said Tehran was ‌considering ⁠joining.

“We are totally loaded up; we are much more powerful than we were before the ceasefire. We used the ceasefire to restock, and they have probably done a little restocking. We totally control the Strait of Hormuz,” he



said.

He said the US caught a ship yesterday that had some things on it that weren’t very nice. “A gift from China, perhaps—I don’t know. I am surprised. I thought I had an understanding with President Xi,” he said.

Earlier, Trump said the US negotiators will be in Pakistan for talks with Iran, resuming negotiations after Iran reversed its decision to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and warned that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the US blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect.

The escalating stand-off over the critical choke point threatened to deepen the energy crisis roiling the global economy and push the two countries toward renewed conflict, even as mediators expressed confidence that a new deal is within reach. The strait is closed until the US blockade is lifted, Iran's Revolutionary Guard navy said Saturday night.