US President Donald Trump said he does not want to extend a temporary cease-fire with Iran beyond April 22, as Washington waits to see if talks with Tehran will proceed amid mutual recriminations.
Speaking in a live phone interview with CNBC on April 21, Trump said the United States was in a strong negotiating position and would end up with what he called a "great deal" when the two sides finally meet.
Iran has yet to say whether it will take part in a new round of face-to-face talks with the US in Islamabad. As of midday in Washington, Vice President JD Vance had not departed for Pakistan, US officials said.
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Hormuz Crisis Has Supercharged The Middle Corridor Trade RouteWhen asked by CNBC if he would extend the current two-week cease-fire that is about to end, Trump said: "I don't want to do that. We don't have that much time."
He also warned that "I expect to be bombing because I think that's a better attitude to go in with."
Pakistan, the mediator in the peace process, urged both the United States and Iran to extend their truce, but multiple reports said Tehran was weighing its options and waiting to see if its conditions, including an end to the US military's blockade of Iranian ports, and a recognition of its right to enrich uranium, would be met.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei told state television late on April 21 that Tehran had not yet decided whether to attend. Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Islamabad was still awaiting a “formal response” from Iran confirming attendance.
Meanwhile, confusion emerged about the day and hour when the cease-fire expires, adding to tension as the clock ticks.
Tarar said in an X post on April 21 that the cease-fire ends at 4:50 a.m. Pakistan Standard Time on April 22 (7:50 p.m. US Eastern Standard Time on April 21). Iranian state TV later said the cease-fire would expire 10 minutes after that.
Trump said this week that it runs until the evening of April 22 US Eastern Standard Time, which is early on April 23 in Tehran and Islamabad.
Baqaei denounced the boarding of an Iranian tanker by US forces late on April 20, as well as the seizure of a separate cargo ship a day earlier, as "piracy at sea and state terrorism" and said the actions raised questions about Washington's commitment to serious negotiations.
Iran has blocked access to the Strait of Hormuz that controls access to the Persian Gulf to all ships but its own or those Tehran approves for transit.
Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who is also Iran's lead negotiator, wrote on X late on April 20 that Tehran is "prepared to reveal new cards" in the war with the United States and Israel, accusing Trump of "imposing a siege and violating the cease-fire" as he tries to turn the negotiations into a "surrender or to justify renewed warmongering."
Trump has threatened to restart the war and attack Iranian civilian infrastructure such as bridges and power plants unless Tehran accepts his terms.
The first round of talks in Islamabad on April 11-12 failed to produce an agreement for a full end to the war, which began on February 28 when US and Israeli air strikes pummeled targets across Iran.
Tensions in the region remain high while cargo ships pile up in the Gulf due to the blockade. Trump has said it will not be lifted until a peace deal is signed.
While shipping traffic has ground more or less to a halt, some ships have reportedly passed through the Strait of Hormuz.
Data from the MarineTraffic ship-tracking platform showed that a vessel named the Ean Spir, which had no known flag or known ownership, passed through the waterway on April 21 after previously docking at an Iraqi port.
A second unflagged ship, the Lian Star, also appeared from the data to have sailed through the strait.
The number of ships that usually pass through the strait, which handles about 20 percent of global oil and gas water transit, is around 140, according to shipping analysts.