Capital Development Authority (CDA) workers set up Pakistan's national flags along a street in Islamabad. AFP
It’s “highly unlikely that I’d extend it,” Trump told Bloomberg in an interview via phone.
“I’m not going to be rushed into making a bad deal. We’ve got all the time in the world,” he said, noting that the deadline for the ceasefire is “Wednesday evening Washington time”.
He also said the Strait of Hormuz would remain blockaded.
A Pakistani source involved in the talks told Reuters the exact deadline is set for 8pm EST on Tuesday, or midnight GMT on Tuesday (3:30am Wednesday in Iran).
Trump, however, told Fox Business earlier on Monday that an agreement with Iran would be signed "tonight" in Pakistan.
He again threatened Iran with overwhelming military force, saying “lots of bombs [will] start going off” if no deal is reached before the ceasefire with Tehran expires.
Monday’s threat of more bombing followed a Sunday morning declaration to a Fox News reporter that “the whole country is going to get blown up” and that if Tehran doesn’t sign a deal, Iran’s bridges and power plants will be targeted in those attacks.
Vice President JD Vance and the American delegation en route to Pakistan, he told The New York Post.
The vice president’s motorcade pulled up to the White House at roughly 11am EST on Monday, meaning that he has not left for Islamabad, AP reported.
The delegation “plans to travel to Islamabad soon,” a source familiar with the matter told CNBC.
Tehran has signaled it may skip the second round, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei accusing the US of violating the truce via its blockade on Iranian ports.
The US President wrote in a Monday Truth Social post that “the DEAL that we are making with Iran will be FAR BETTER than the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action], commonly referred to as ‘The Iran Nuclear Deal,’ penned by Barack Hussein Obama and Sleepy Joe Biden, one of the Worst Deals ever made having to do with the Security of our Country,” arguing his approach would prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and ensure broader regional security.
Trump also pointed to the unfreezing of Iranian assets and past financial transfers, while suggesting any arrangement under his administration would differ in structure and outcome.
On Friday, CNN reported that the Trump administration was considering unfreezing $20 billion in Iranian assets, an amount far higher than Obama greenlit as part of that deal.
“It was a guaranteed Road to a Nuclear Weapon, which will not, and cannot, happen with the Deal we’re working on,” Trump went on. “In addition, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars was paid to Iran. If I did not terminate that ‘Deal,’ Nuclear Weapons would have been used on Israel, and all over the Middle East, including our cherished US Military Bases.”
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