Trump says he is 'highly unlikely' to extend a ceasefire with Iran and 'lots of bombs start going off' if no deal is reached

By SOPHIA STANFORD, NEWS REPORTER Published: 19:00, 20 April 2026 | Updated: 19:24, 20 April 2026 President Trump has said it is 'highly unlikely' a ceasefire will be extended with Iran, warning that 'lots of bombs start going off' if Tehran do not agree to a deal. The current two-week long ceasefire in place will expire on 'Wednesday evening Washington time' but Iran have not committed to attending further talks set to be held in Islamabad this week. 'I’m not going to be rushed into making a bad deal. We’ve got all the time in the world,' the US President said told Bloomberg News in a phone interview.  He then told PBS News that 'lots of bombs start going off' if the two countries do not come to an agreement and he 'would certainly expect' fighting to resume immediately. Trump has previously been unclear about whether he would extend the ceasefire, telling five reporters three different answers in a question-and-answer session last week.  The president also said that the Strait of Hormuz would continue to be blockaded until the US and Iran reach an agreement on the war.  He added that Vice President JD Vance would leave later in the day to resume negotiations in Pakistan which will begin on Tuesday.  However, the Islamic Republic has not yet decided to send negotiators to Pakistan, citing the US naval blockade and Washington's demands as fundamental obstacles to peace. President Trump has said it is 'highly unlikely' a ceasefire will be extended with Iran The current two-week long ceasefire in place will expire on 'Wednesday evening Washington time' (pictured: damage at sites in Tehran previously targeted by US-Israeli strikes) Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that the regime's position on missing negotiations 'has not changed to this moment' - contradicting Donald Trump’s statement that the US negotiating team was heading to Islamabad. The US President previously dismissed claims Iran would skip the meetings, telling the New York Post: 'I would assume at this point nobody’s playing games.' 'The naval blockade issue is a very fundamental obstacle in negotiations,' Tasnim reported. The news agency added that Pakistani mediators confirmed they had raised the matter with the US President. The regime also objects to unspecified additional US demands communicated through diplomatic channels. 'The Iranian delegation believes that as long as America does not look at the issue realistically and approaches the negotiating table with the same wrong calculations that led to its heavy battlefield defeat, negotiations are just a waste of time,' Tasnim reported. The news agency said Tehran 'has no intention to participate in American theatre' until important obstacles are removed and 'a clear horizon for reaching an agreement acceptable to Iran takes shape'. Regarding talking face to face with the Iranian top brass, Trump said: 'I have no problem meeting them.' He continued: 'If they want to meet, and we have some very capable people, but I have no problem meeting them.' At the heart of the discussions, Trump said, is one non-negotiable demand: the Islamic Republic must abandon any pursuit of nuclear weapons. 'Get rid of their nuclear weapons. That’s all very simple,' he said. 'There will be no nuclear weapon.' Meanwhile, peace talks between Israel and Lebanon ​will ‌resume on ​Thursday in Washington, an Israeli source said.  Lebanon's president had earlier said these talks should be seen as separate to any negotiations taking place with Iran.  The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.