President Trump extends ceasefire with Iran
WASHINGTON (NBC, KYMA) - President Donald Trump announced he's extending the ceasefire with Iran, but as the U.S. Naval blockade of Iran's ports continue, the future of peace talks remains unclear and now, a potential new escalation overnight is raising the stakes.
Fresh tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran's Revolutionary Guard attacked three ships and seized two of them, according to Iranian State Media.
The U.K. Maritime Agency earlier warned of two ships coming under fire.
The escalation coming just hours after President Trump announced he was extending the ceasefire with Iran until its leaders come up with a unified proposal.
On Tuesday morning, the president projected optimism about new peace talks led by Vice President J.D. Vance in Pakistan, but by midday, Vice President Vance was at the White House instead.
"I want to make a great deal," Trump remarked.
The talks are off for now as Iran never agreed to come to the table. Before extending the ceasefire, Trump made clear the military was on standby.
"I expect to be bombing because I think that's a better attitude to go in with. But, you know, we're ready to go. I mean, the military is raring to go," Trump shared.
The president also vowing to continue the blockade on Iranian ports, insisting the country is collapsing financially and wants the strait reopened.
Iran says the U.S. blockade is a violation of the ceasefire, and that it won't negotiate until it ends. Adding to the pressure, U.S. forces boarded an Iran-linked oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after seizing an Iranian ship Sunday that the president suggested may have been carrying cargo from China.
"I thought I had an understanding with President Xi, but that's all right. That's the way war goes, right?" Trump spoke.
All as NBC News has learned the Pentagon's Internal Intelligence Agency gave a recent statement to lawmakers saying that while Iran's military is badly damaged, it still has significant capabilities, including thousands of missiles and attack drones, with the path to peace now uncertain.
On Capitol Hill, Senate Democrats are set to try again Wednesday to push through a resolution reining in the president's war powers without approval from Congress.
That effort has failed multiple times before, and the Senate's top Republican, John Thune, reasserted that his members broadly back the president's approach.
