Trump on extended ceasefire with Iran: ‘I don’t want to do that’

President Trump said Tuesday that he does not want to extend the ceasefire with Iran, with the the deadline slated to expire Wednesday.

Trump, when asked by CNBC if he would consider lengthen the ceasefire if peace talks this week make progress, responded, “I don’t want to do that.”

“We don’t have that much time,” he said, adding that by the time Iran gets negotiators to Pakistan for the talks the ceasefire will likely be close to lapsing.

While Vice President Vance is expected to depart for Pakistan Tuesday, Iran has not yet confirmed it will be send its own negotiators to Islamabad.

Trump has maintained in recent days that the U.S. is unlikely to extend the two-week ceasefire put in place earlier this month. The detente is scheduled to end Wednesday evening.

Trump on Tuesday said Iran can get itself on “very good footing if they make a deal” in Pakistan this week. He added that he expects to “be bombing” if no deal is hammered out before Wednesday.

“I think that’s a better attitude to go in with,” he said. “But we’re ready to go, I mean the military is raring to go.”

Trump also said he thinks Iran has “no choice but to send” negotiators to Pakistan, calling the leadership in Iran “much more rational” than previous leaders.

“What I think is that we’re going to end up with a great deal,” he said, adding that the U.S. is in a “very strong negotiating position.: “I think they have no choice.”

The president also told CNBC that he suspected that China may be aiding Iran after the U.S. seized a cargo ship Monday.

“We caught a ship yesterday that had some things on it, which wasn’t very nice, a gift from China perhaps, I don’t know,” he said. “I was a little surprised because I have a very good relationship, and I thought I had an understanding with President Xi, but that’s alright, that’s the way war goes, right?”

He did not mention where the ship was or why he thought the “gift” was from China.

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