A US official has told Axios that President Trump’s extension of the ceasefire with Iran will not be open-ended and suggested it could last just “three to five days,” though that exact timetable was later denied by the White House.
The Trump administration is attempting to frame the lack of talks in Pakistan as related to divisions between the Iranian leadership, but Iranian officials have been clear that they won’t engage in further negotiations as long as the US is enforcing a blockade on Iranian ports.
US officials speaking to Axios reporter Barak Ravid continued to push the narrative that Iran’s government is not cohesive. “Trump is willing to give another three to five days of ceasefire to allow the Iranians to get their shit together,” one US source told Ravid.
US officials are claiming there are fractures between the Iranian military and civilian leadership, pointing to the fact that the IRGC attacked ships attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz a day after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the strait was open to commercial traffic.
But Iran’s Supreme National Security Council released a statement making it clear that the strait was re-closed due to the US maintaining the blockade on Iran, which it considers to be a ceasefire violation, a view that’s been affirmed by Araghchi. “Blockading Iranian ports is an act of war and thus a violation of the ceasefire,” the Iranian Foreign Minister wrote on X on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Iranian officials continued to stress that the US blockade must be lifted before talks can happen. “The Islamic Republic of Iran has welcomed dialogue and agreement and continues to do so. Breach of commitments, blockade and threats are main obstacles to genuine negotiations,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on X.
Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, who was involved in the first round of talks with the US in Islamabad, made similar comments on X.
“A complete ceasefire only makes sense if it is not violated by the maritime blockade and the hostage-taking of the world’s economy, and if the Zionist warmongering across all fronts is halted; reopening the Strait of Hormuz is impossible with such a flagrant breach of the ceasefire,” he said. “They did not achieve their goals through military aggression, nor will they through bullying. The only way forward is to recognize the rights of the Iranian nation.”
