US President Donald Trump told Fox News on Wednesday that there is “no time frame" for the conflict with Iran.
Trump also said in the interview with Martha MacCallum that there was “no time pressure" on the ceasefire that he extended Tuesday afternoon or for new peace talks to occur.
Asked when the war might come to an end, Trump replied there was “no time frame" and there was no rush.
“People say I want to get it over because of the midterms, not true," Trump said, adding that the administration wanted to “get a good deal for the American people."
Trump vowed to continue the US blockade that has been imposed on Iranian ports even as he extended the ceasefire and did not specify an end date.
On Tuesday, Trump said he was extending a two-week ceasefire indefinitely, adding Iran’s leadership is “seriously fractured" and must “come up with a unified proposal."
He later stated if the US lifts its naval blockade of Iran, a deal between the two countries would be possible if the US renews its strikes on the Islamic Republic.
“Iran doesn’t want the Strait of Hormuz closed, they want it open so they can make $500 Million Dollars a day (which is, therefore, what they are losing if it is closed!). They only say they want it closed because I have it totally BLOCKADED (CLOSED!), so they merely want to ‘save face,’" Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“People approached me four days ago, saying, ‘Sir, Iran wants to open up the Strait, immediately.’ But if we do that, there can never be a Deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their Country, their leaders included!" he added.
The President’s comments to Fox News are in line with what White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday.
Leavitt stated that Trump “has not set a firm deadline" for Iran to submit a proposal for an end to the war.
“There's obviously a lot of internal division [in Iran]. This is a battle between the pragmatists and the hardliners in Iran right now, and the President wants a unified response. And so as we await that response, there's a ceasefire with the military and kinetic strikes, but Operation Economic Fury continues," she stressed, “and the effective and successful naval blockade continues as well of ships and vessels that are moving to and from Iranian ports. We are completely strangling their economy through this blockade. They're losing $500 million a day."
“The President has not set a firm deadline to receive an Iranian proposal, unlike some of the reporting I've seen today. Ultimately, the timeline will be dictated by the commander-in-chief and the president of the United States," Leavitt stressed.
She also said, “We all see a lot of different messaging and rhetoric coming out of Iran - and I would caution you against taking anything they say at face value. What they say publicly is much different than what they concede to the US and our negotiating team privately."
Leavitt explained that Trump "chose to extend the ceasefire because it's Iran who needs to get their act together. The United States and President Trump have been very clear in our demands, and our red lines, and what we need to see...from the very beginning."
Earlier on Wednesday, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that Iran had accepted the US request for a ceasefire but had not yet decided whether to participate in talks.
Meanwhile, Iran three times attacked ships sailing southwards in the Strait of Hormuz.