Hours before he said bombing would resume, Donald Trump accepted a Pakistani request to indefinitely extend the ceasefire while the U.S. waits for a unified Iranian response, writes Joe Lauria.
UPDATED NOW: With chaos growing, Donald Trump sent his real estate agents to Islamabad in an effort at renewed peace talks. He says if there’s no deal this week he’ll start destroying Iran’s civilian targets, writes Joe Lauria.
UPDATE: Trump’s plan for a full naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has been dropped as the U.S. will instead only block ships departing Iranian ports, writes Joe Lauria.
M.K. Bhadrakumar won’t be surprised if things go well between Trump and Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, the billionaire speaker of Iran’s Majlis, who heads negotiations beginning in Islamabad Saturday.
A pattern has emerged in the war that the U.S. and Israel can’t shake after three weeks: they hit Iran and Iran answers with the same attack. This time though, Trump has backed down.
Trump yo-yos on when the war ends and Iran says we decide; Australia sending plane to UAE; Rubio worried about Iraq embassy; Trump says Iran would’ve nuked Israel already; and U.S.-Israel air strikes damage UNESCO sites in Isfahan.