WASHINGTON — The U.S. and Iran appear far apart in diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war, just over 24 hours from President Donald Trump’s deadline for the government in Tehran to either agree to a deal or face a bombardment of attacks on its country’s infrastructure.
“We’re giving them till tomorrow, 8 o’clock Eastern time, and after that, they’re going to have no bridges,” Trump said during a news conference at the White House on Monday. “They’re going to have no power plants.”
Trump vowed to bomb Iran to the “Stone Ages” if no deal that includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is reached by Tuesday night. Without clarifying which proposal he was referring to, Trump described a latest offer from Iran as “a significant proposal,” but added that “it’s not good enough.”
Iran, for its part, has been demanding a permanent end to the war despite Trump’s latest ultimatum. Iran publicly has rejected proposals for a temporary ceasefire that have been shared through intermediaries.
One of those proposals includes a 45-day ceasefire that was recently delivered by Pakistan to both U.S. and Iranian officials, according to two regional officials and a senior White House official.
The White House official said the 45-day ceasefire proposal is “one of many things being discussed” in an exchange of views between the U.S. and Iran through mediators. Trump has not signed off on the proposal, the White House official said.
“The only one who is going to set a ceasefire is me,” Trump said Monday during an Easter event when asked about the 45-day ceasefire proposal. “I haven’t set any ceasefire.”
Iranian state media IRNA reported Monday that Tehran has sent a 10-point proposal to the U.S. through Pakistan that emphasizes the need for a permanent end to the war. IRNA reported that Iran would reject a temporary ceasefire given that during previous rounds of negotiations with the U.S., the Trump administration launched military strikes while talks were ongoing.
Asked if he has concerns about bombing Iran’s infrastructure amounting to a war crime, Trump said, “No, not at all.”
“I hope I don’t have to do it,” he said.
The U.S. and Iran have acknowledged exchanging messages through intermediaries for the last two weeks including Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey. As part of those discussions, Vice President JD Vance has been in touch with Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, according to regional officials. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said he has been in touch directly with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff.
On Monday, Trump said the U.S. is negotiating with “an active, willing participant” in Iran, while also saying that communicating with Iranian leadership has been a challenge.
“They have no communication. In fact, the biggest problem we have in our negotiation is that they can’t communicate,” he said. “We’re communicating like they used to communicate 2,000 years ago, with children bringing a note back and forth.”
“I can tell you, they’re negotiating,” he later added. “We think in good faith. We’re going to find out.”
The president has issued a series of threats to the Iranian regime with deadlines that have come and gone, namely over reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
On March 21, he gave Iran 48 hours to reopen the critical waterway, but later extended it for more than a week, announcing the start of diplomatic negotiations to end the war. Since then, the president has vacillated between saying a deal is unnecessary for Iran to reopen the strait to saying it is not the United States’ but other countries’ responsibility to ensure the strait is reopened to demanding that Iran reopen the strait or face attacks on its infrastructure.
Dennis Ross, a former Middle East envoy who is currently a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said Iran’s leaders have lost much of the country’s military might from U.S. and Israeli strikes, but despite Trump’s threats, they see significant leverage in controlling the Strait of Hormuz given the impact on the global economy.
“They don’t discount the threats, but they see the conflict in existential terms and they see themselves better off by continuing it — and in any event believe the president will need to end it before they do,” Ross said.
Trump suggested Monday that any deal to end the war would have to include the free traffic of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, which he said is “a very big priority.”
He also said there would be no more extensions to his Tuesday deadline.
“It’s not going to be moved again. I gave them a chance, and I hope they take the chance,” he said. “If they don’t, it’s trouble.”
Trump's rhetoric likely won't derail ongoing diplomacy efforts because there are too many other nations vested in an end to the conflict - though the U.S. decision to continue bombing may create problems, said Eric Edelman, a former ambassador who served under former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
“In reality, he only has two choices — either escalating or walking away," Edelman said. "Neither is good from his point of view or that of the American people. I worry that he if he chooses the former then we will have a race to the bottom with both sides attempting to inflict absolute destruction.”
