Trump Gives Iran Days to Return to Peace Talks or Ceasefire Ends/ TezzBuzz/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ President Donald Trump is giving Iran only a few more days to resolve internal divisions and return to peace talks before the temporary ceasefire expires. U.S. officials say deep fractures between Iran’s military leadership and civilian negotiators have delayed progress, while Vice President JD Vance’s planned Pakistan trip was postponed. Trump has chosen to extend diplomacy for now, but officials warn military action could return quickly if Tehran fails to respond.
- Trump extended the Iran ceasefire for only 3 to 5 more days
- U.S. officials say Iran’s leadership is deeply divided
- Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is reportedly barely communicating
- IRGC generals and civilian negotiators are clashing over strategy
- JD Vance delayed his Pakistan trip for peace talks
- Trump kept the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports in place
- The White House debated diplomacy versus military strikes
- If talks fail, military action remains on the table
Trump Gives Iran a Final Short Window for Diplomacy
President Donald Trump is giving Iran only a narrow window to return to peace negotiations before the ceasefire he extended this week runs out.
According to U.S. officials, Trump is willing to allow only another three to five days for Iran’s leadership to unify behind a serious counter-offer.
If that does not happen, the military option could return quickly.
“Trump is willing to give another three to five days of ceasefire to allow the Iranians to get their shit together,” one U.S. source said.
“It is not going to be open-ended.”
The White House still believes a deal to end the war and address Iran’s remaining nuclear program is possible.
But officials are increasingly concerned there may be no single authority in Tehran capable of approving such a deal.
Deep Fractures Inside Iran Are Blocking Progress
American negotiators say Iran’s internal political split has become the biggest obstacle to peace.
Officials describe a major power struggle between Iran’s civilian negotiators and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, which now appears to control much of the country’s wartime decision-making.
At the center of the uncertainty is Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who U.S. officials say is barely communicating and has become largely unreachable.
“We saw that there is an absolute fracture inside Iran between the negotiators and the military,” one U.S. official said.
Neither side, according to U.S. intelligence, seems able to secure direct access to Khamenei or clear authority to finalize negotiations.
That makes diplomacy extremely unstable.
Islamabad Talks Fell Apart Over Military Resistance
The U.S. first recognized the internal split after the first round of peace talks in Islamabad.
Iranian negotiators appeared open to progress, but IRGC commander Gen. Ahmad Vahidi and senior military officials later rejected much of what had been discussed.
The division became public last Friday when Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The IRGC refused to implement the decision and instead publicly attacked Araghchi.
That moment exposed how little control civilian diplomats may now have.
In the days that followed, Iran gave no serious response to the latest U.S. proposal and refused to commit to a second round of talks in Pakistan.
That forced Washington to reconsider its strategy.
Death of Ali Larijani Weakened Iran’s Internal Coordination
US officials believe part of the current dysfunction began after Israel’s March assassination of Ali Larijani.
Larijani had previously served as secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and was seen as one of the few figures capable of balancing the military, civilian leadership, and the supreme leader.
His replacement, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, has reportedly failed to maintain that same level of authority.
Officials say his inability to coordinate between the IRGC and negotiators has made Tehran’s decision-making far less stable.
That leadership vacuum is now directly affecting ceasefire diplomacy.
JD Vance’s Pakistan Trip Was Suddenly Halted
The White House felt the breakdown most clearly through Vice President JD Vance.
He had already packed for Islamabad and was preparing to lead a second round of peace talks alongside White House envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
Instead, he spent hours waiting for confirmation that Iran’s military leadership would allow parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Araghchi to travel.
On Monday night, Pakistani mediators believed Tehran had agreed.
By Tuesday morning, that signal disappeared.
Iran instead demanded that the United States lift its naval blockade before talks could proceed.
Air Force Two remained on the runway for hours before the trip was canceled.
Witkoff and Kushner also abandoned their own Islamabad travel plans and returned to Washington.
On Tuesday afternoon, Trump met with his top national security team to decide the next step.
The meeting included Vance, Witkoff, Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine.
Some advisers expected Trump might approve a major strike on Iran’s energy infrastructure.
Instead, he chose to give diplomacy more time.
“The degree of the fracture became clear,” one official said.
“So the decision was to give the diplomatic efforts a little bit more time.”
This signaled that Trump believes the U.S. has already achieved most of what it can militarily.
Trump Wants Out of the War—But Not Without a Deal
Several U.S. officials believe Trump no longer wants to deepen military involvement.
One source close to the president said Trump believes the war has become politically unpopular and wants to exit if diplomacy can still succeed.
“It certainly looks like Trump doesn’t want to use military force anymore and has made a decision to end the war,” the source said.
Still, that restraint has limits.
If Pakistan’s mediators cannot secure Iran’s participation within Trump’s deadline, military action could return immediately.
The White House sees the current ceasefire as temporary leverage—not permanent peace.
Naval Blockade Remains Trump’s Main Pressure Tool
Although Trump extended the ceasefire, he kept the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports fully in place.
He believes the blockade is stronger leverage than direct military escalation.
Trump has argued Iran is financially desperate and cannot sustain the war without restoring oil exports.
In a Truth Social post Tuesday night, he wrote:
“Iran doesn’t want the Strait of Hormuz closed, they want it open so they can make $500 Million Dollars a day.”
“They only say they want it closed because I have it totally BLOCKADED (CLOSED!), so they merely want to save face.”
He added that reopening the strait without a deal would only happen if the U.S. chose overwhelming military destruction instead.
That message made clear Trump sees economic pressure as his strongest negotiating weapon.
The Next Move Depends on Khamenei
Now U.S. officials and Pakistani mediators are waiting for one person: Khamenei.
They expect the supreme leader to break his silence within the next day or two and give his negotiators clear instructions.
Until that happens, the ceasefire remains fragile.
Trump has made clear that time is limited.
The next decision from Tehran may determine whether diplomacy survives—or whether the war begins again.
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