Trump says he’s extending ceasefire

USA TODAY

President Donald Trump on the afternoon of April 21 announced that he would extend the ceasefire with Iran until the country had submitted a peace proposal and 'discussions are concluded, one way or the other.'

'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,' Trump said in a statement.

'I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other.'

The president’s announcement came on the eve of the expiration of the ceasefire and as the chances for talks between the two sides were growing increasingly dim. Trump also announced he would continue the naval blockade of Iranian ports, a move that Iranian leaders have called 'an act of war.'

The U.S. delegation negotiating to end the Iran war was not traveling to Pakistan on April 21, as had been previously announced. Vice President JD Vance had been expected to make the trip to Islamabad to lead peace talks for the United States. The Iranian government, meanwhile, expressed frustration with the Trump administration and said it hadn’t decided on whether it would send diplomats to Pakistan.

'It is not out of indecisiveness, it is because we are facing contradictory messages and behaviors, and unacceptable actions from the American counterpart,' said Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei, referencing the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports that saw American forces seize an Iranian cargo ship.

Trump said in a CNBC interview that he does not want to extend the ceasefire with Iran and dismissed concerns about civilian harm from potential strikes on bridges and power plants if an agreement is not reached, arguing the infrastructure is used to move their military equipment and failure to make a deal would 'hurt them militarily.'

The president said he is prepared to continue bombing Iran if they don’t agree to a deal.

'I expect to be bombing because I think that’s a better attitude to go in with,' Trump said.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a key player in peace negotiations, thanked Trump for the move to extend the ceasefire.

Military boards Iranian tanker

Trump spoke shortly after the U.S. military announced it had boarded a huge Iranian oil tanker at sea in international waters, the first such move against Iran’s crude exports.

The U.S. military said it had boarded the Tifani tanker linked to Iran 'without incident.' The vessel last reported its position the morning of April 21 as near Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean, according to MarineTraffic tracking data. It was close to fully loaded with 2 million barrels of crude and had signaled Singapore as its destination.

'As we have made clear, we will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran – anywhere they operate,' U.S. Central Command said.

There was no immediate comment from Iran on the boarding.

Another U.S. carrier strike group appears headed for the Middle East amid its continued naval blockade.

The U.S. Naval Institute, a nonprofit that covers the Navy, reported the USS George H.W. Bush was located in the southern Indian Ocean off the coast of Madagascar.

Updated reporting on the group’s location comes about a week after the Naval Institute reported the carrier group was headed to the Middle East to assist in the blockade.

Pentagon officials declined to comment on the carrier group’s earlier reported movements. USA TODAY has reached out for comment following the Naval Institute update on the group’s location.

Also located in the area are the USS Gerald R. Ford, in the Red Sea near the Suez Canal, and the USS Abraham Lincoln and the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group in the Arabian Sea, according to the Naval Institute.

Veterans arrested at protest

In the United States, more than 60 people were arrested April 20 on Capitol Hill at an anti-Iran war protest hosted by a group of veterans.

'We are veterans and military families, demanding an end to the war on Iran,' a group member declared while standing before some 130 people in military fatigues inside the Cannon House Office Building rotunda.

'We demand that Congress not authorize one cent more to this war. We demand that Donald Trump bring back all U.S. military personnel and stop these illegal and immoral attacks on the Iranian people.'

The protest was hosted by About Face: Veterans Against the War, a veterans organization that formed in the wake of the Iraq War. Throughout Trump’s second administration, the group has been calling on veterans to ignore illegal orders from the White House, including deploying to U.S. cities to help with immigration enforcement.

United States Capitol Police said 66 people were arrested in connection with the demonstration for 'illegally protesting inside the Cannon House Office Building.'

'Demonstrations are not allowed inside Congressional Buildings, so when they started to protest and refused to stop, we began arresting them,' Capitol Police said in a statement, adding the group entered the building legally.

Contributing: Christopher Cann, Zac Anderson, Michael Loria, Andrea Riquier, Francesca Chambers and Kathryn Palmer, USA TODAY; Reuters

A woman walks past an anti-U.S. and anti-Israel mural in Tehran, Iran, on April 21 as the end of a two-week ceasefire approaches.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images