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Donald Trump unilaterally announced an extension of the two-week ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday amid frantic efforts to bring the two sides back to the negotiating table.
Hours after announcing that he “expected to be bombing”, the US president said he would extend the ceasefire until Iranian negotiators submitted a proposal for peace.
“Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The president had earlier told the US business news network CNBC that he did not want to extend the ceasefire with Tehran, insisting the US was in a strong position and was “going to end up with a great deal”. Trump has previously said that targets for new US attacks would include power stations and other civilian infrastructure.
The declaration came in a topsy-turvy day in which an expected trip to Islamabad by JD Vance, the vice-president, had been put on hold and Trump ramped up his bellicose rhetoric, saying the US military was “raring to go”.
Trump announces extension of Iran ceasefire until ‘discussion concluded’
Trump’s sharp about-turn drew a withering early response from Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian parliament who has emerged as the Islamic regime’s lead negotiator in recent talks.
Ghalibaf’s personal adviser dismissed the ceasefire extension as “a ploy to buy time for a surprise strike”, adding that “the time for Iran to take the initiative has come”.
Virginia voters approve new congressional maps in blow to Trump
Voters in Virginia on Tuesday approved new congressional maps intended to boost Democrats’ chances of retaking the House of Representatives, in the latest blow to Donald Trump’s effort to use mid-decade redistricting to preserve his control of Congress.
The tit-for-tat redistricting battle began last year after Trump pressed Texas’s Republican-controlled legislature to redraw that state’s congressional maps in a bid to oust as many as five Democratic House lawmakers in the November midterm elections.
Trump’s Fed chair pick says he’ll maintain independence – but won’t say president lost 2020 election
Donald Trump’s nominee for US Federal Reserve chair, Kevin Warsh, faced a tumultuous hearing in Washington on Tuesday, fielding scrutiny over his wealth and his ability to operate independently of the president who appointed him.
Should he be confirmed, Warsh will hold one of the most powerful roles in the US federal government, with massive influence over the global economy and the ability to move markets.
Southern Poverty Law Center indicted on federal fraud charges
The Southern Poverty Law Center, the prominent civil rights organization, has been indicted on federal fraud charges related to past payments it made to confidential informants to infiltrate extremist groups including the Ku Klux Klan, the justice department has announced.
US military service members will no longer be required to get annual flu shot
In a video statement posted to social media, defense secretary Pete Hegseth described the mandate as “overly broad” and “not rational” and the decision to drop the vaccine requirement as “seizing this moment to discard any absurd overreaching mandates that only weaken our war fighting capabilities”.
Tucker Carlson says he regrets backing Donald Trump and is ‘tormented by it’
Tucker Carlson, a conservative podcaster, has said he is “tormented” by his support of Donald Trump, issuing in an extraordinary mea culpa that called for “a moment to wrestle with our own consciences”.
Trump officials consider sending 1,100 Afghans who aided US forces to Congo
The Trump administration is in discussions to potentially send up to 1,100 Afghans who helped US forces during the war in Afghanistan to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a non-profit confirmed on Tuesday.
Catching up? Here’s what happened on 20 April.
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