In a phone interview with Bloomberg on April 20, U.S. President Donald Trump said the two-week truce with Iran would end "Wednesday (22) evening, Washington time." Asked about extending it, he said the chances were "very small" and said a U.S. naval blockade of Iran would remain in place until an agreement is reached. The U.S. and Iran agreed to the truce on April 7, and it had been widely viewed as running through April 21, though Trump’s remarks were seen as effectively extending the deadline by about a day.
Trump also pointed to a possible schedule for talks. He said Vice President JD Vance would depart for Pakistan and that negotiations would begin April 21.
Axios reported that Vance was expected to leave for Pakistan no later than the morning of April 21, possibly late on April 20. It said Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, were expected to travel with him. The report said Vance had delayed his departure while awaiting Iran’s response, but that a "green light" from Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, had been conveyed.
Iran has also sent signals suggesting talks could move forward. The Wall Street Journal, citing multiple sources, reported that Iran told mediators it would send a negotiating team to Pakistan on April 21. Reuters, citing a Pakistani source involved in the talks, reported that a second round would be held Wednesday (22). The source said that if an agreement is reached, Trump could attend in person or participate by video.
Iran’s government has not officially confirmed sending a delegation. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said, "For now, there is no plan for the next negotiation," adding that Iran would not accept deadlines or ultimatums to protect its national interests. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker who leads the negotiating team, wrote on X that "we will not accept negotiations conducted under the shadow of threats."
Trump, in a phone interview with the conservative radio program "The John Fredericks Show," warned Iran: "They will negotiate, and if they don’t, they will face problems they have never seen before."
The first round of talks collapsed without narrowing differences over major issues, including Iran’s abandonment of its nuclear program. On Truth Social, Trump said the nuclear deal now being pursued with Iran would produce a better outcome than the 2015 agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Under the JCPOA, Iran’s nuclear program was limited in exchange for sanctions relief, and Iran’s highly enriched uranium was moved abroad while stockpiles were sharply capped.
Trump later wrote again on Truth Social that "Operation Midnight Hammer" had "completely and totally destroyed" Iran-related nuclear targets and that recovering buried nuclear material would require a long and difficult process. Midnight Hammer was the name of a U.S. operation that struck three Iranian nuclear facilities in June last year.
The Wall Street Journal reported that some flexibility is being detected on uranium enrichment. It said mediators are considering an option under which Iran would halt enrichment for a period and later be allowed limited production of low-enriched uranium.
Despite the diplomatic activity, tensions remain. Iran sharply criticized the United States for seizing an Iranian-flagged cargo ship and demanded the crew’s release. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that the Foreign Ministry, in a statement, called the action piracy and terrorism and said it was "another clear violation" of the truce and an attack on Iran. The ministry said it would mobilize all capabilities to defend national interests and security and to protect the rights and dignity of the Iranian people, warning that if regional conditions worsen further, the United States would bear full responsibility.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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