U.S. President Donald Trump is willing to give Iran an additional three to five days of ceasefire, U.S. online media outlet Axios reported Saturday, citing three U.S. officials.
Trump had declared an extension of the ceasefire with Iran one day before the "two-week ceasefire" was set to expire, but did not specify the length of the extension.
According to sources cited by Axios, Trump granted a short grace period to allow opposing factions within Iran to prepare a unified counterproposal, and the ceasefire could end if no progress is made during this period.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which currently controls Iran's military, and the camp of Iranian negotiation representative Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the parliament, are reportedly at odds over strategy for the war-ending negotiations.
One official briefed on the matter said of the ceasefire period that it "will not last indefinitely."
Meanwhile, Trump believes the United States has achieved everything militarily and wants to exit a war that is increasingly losing public support, several officials and close associates said.
"It is clear that Trump no longer wants to use military force and appears to have decided to end the war," a source close to Trump said.
Earlier, delegations from the United States and Iran held a first round of war-ending negotiations in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, on the 11th and 12th, but the talks broke down. A second round was expected to be held in Islamabad on Saturday, but fell through after Iran did not confirm its participation.
