Thus moves forward Donald Trump: groping his way, impatient and swaggering. Threats against Iran follow one after another, interspersed with promises of an imminent diplomatic breakthrough, with little regard for coherence or understanding of his adversary.
On Sunday, April 19, just 48 hours before the expiration of a two-week ceasefire, the seizure of an Iranian cargo ship by the US Navy opened a new chasm of uncertainty, with Tehran promising a military response. That very morning, the billionaire president had announced that a delegation from his country would travel to Islamabad, Pakistan, on Monday. For several hours, it remained unclear whether Vice President JD Vance would lead the group. Trump told ABC News that he would be absent for security reasons. The White House later confirmed his participation.
Pakistan would be hosting high-level bilateral negotiations between the US and Iran for the second time. Yet Tehran has not confirmed its participation. It has set the lifting of the US naval blockade as a precondition. Islamabad has continued to actively work to bring the sides closer together. Iran’s absence would be seen as an affront to Washington. It would make the resumption of US and Israeli military operations highly likely. The choice of war, for lack of an exit strategy.
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