With less than 72 hours left until the ceasefire agreed upon by the United States and Iran expires, both countries are rushing the last negotiation options before the conflict in the Middle East falls into a new scenario with unforeseeable consequences. In the midst of growing tension and with attacks on several ships by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, has announced that he will send a diplomatic delegation to Islamabad (Pakistan) to resume talks this coming Tuesday in search of a peace agreement. However, Iranian authorities assure that they have not yet decided to attend the meeting “as long as there is a naval blockade” by the United States, according to the Iranian news agency Tasnim.
He wrote through his Truth social network: “My representatives are heading to Islamabad, Pakistan; they will be there tomorrow afternoon to engage in negotiations.” and , his best friend and son-in-law, will lead the US diplomatic delegation, as revealed by the president in telephone calls to various media. It is unclear whether US Vice President JD Vance will travel with the delegation. In the midst of the confusion that surrounds everything, Trump assured the ABC television network that his number two will not be able to travel for security reasons, but later senior White House officials assured that he will lead the negotiations.
Trump’s strategy adds tension. While on the one hand he seemed willing to maintain the negotiations, on the other hand he returned to his most belligerent speech: “We are offering a very fair and reasonable AGREEMENT, and I hope you accept it because, if we don’t, the United States will destroy each and every one of the power plants, as well as each and every one of the bridges in Iran. NO OVER BEING THE “GOOD GUY”!”, he wrote. ”They will fall fast, they will fall easily, and if they do not accept the DEAL, it will be my honor to do what needs to be done; something other presidents should have done to Iran over the last 47 years IT’S TIME TO END IRAN’S KILLING MACHINE!”
The American president’s strategy is not a secret. To unravel the author of a book that had some success in the late 1980s, just look at his manual written almost four decades ago. “My style in negotiation is quite simple and straightforward. I aim very high, and from there everything is pulling and pulling until I get what I want. Sometimes I settle for less, but,” he then slipped.
In telephone conversations with some media, the new strategy to place his message, the president redoubled the threats this Sunday: like any country has been hit before because they cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon,” he told Fox News. “If they don’t sign this agreement, the whole country is going to blow up,” he insisted.
Thus, he handles extreme threats and negotiation in the same hand of cards. And the Republican president begins to despair over the development of a war that he hoped to end in a few weeks, but seems to be entrenched.
This weekend has been an example of the unpredictable situation in the Persian Gulf. The Iranian authorities announced on Friday the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, a step celebrated with some euphoria by Trump, who believed he saw the end of the conflict closer, but a few hours later when he felt disappointed by Washington’s maintenance of the blockade of Iranian ports.
Trump offered his own version of events this Sunday through his main communication platform: “Iran decided to fire yesterday in the Strait of Hormuz: a total violation of our ceasefire agreement! Many of the shots were aimed at a French ship and a UK cargo ship. That was not good, right? Iran recently announced that it would close the strait, which is strange, given that our BLOCKADE has already closed it.” They are helping us without knowing it, and they are the ones who lose by closing the pass: 500 million dollars a day! The United States loses nothing. In fact, many ships are heading to the US right now – to Texas, Louisiana and Alaska – to load goods, courtesy of the IRGC, which always wants to pose as “the tough guy”!
Trump seems trapped in a conflict that is putting a dent in his polls. His assessment is with just six months left, in which the future of the legislature will be decided. For this reason, he insists on settling the war that he himself started following the advice of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Iran also does not want to prolong the conflict, but has drawn two red lines. On the one hand, he wants to maintain . The Iranian authorities want to charge tolls or fees for ships passing through. On the other hand, they do not want to give up their nuclear program because they believe that international law protects them. But these are also two red lines for Washington, which will not accept controls over the Strait and does not trust Tehran’s atomic intentions.
Diplomatic efforts to calm tension continue. The President of Iran, Masud Pezeshkian, is scheduled to hold a telephone conversation with the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shebhaz Sharif, to define the conditions of the negotiations and the possible assistance of the Tehran regime to the new round of talks.
