President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he would extend the ceasefire with Iran to give the Iranian government time to prepare a unified proposal.

“Given the fact that the Iranian government is seriously divided, which is not surprising, and at the request of Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, we have been asked to stop attacks into Iran, until our leadership and representatives are able to put together a unified proposal,” Trump said on Truth Social.

“Therefore, I have instructed our military to continue the blockade and to remain prepared in all other respects and, accordingly, the ceasefire period will be extended until the other side submits proposals and the discussions are concluded in any way,” he added.

The ceasefire was scheduled to expire Wednesday evening, and Trump had previously stated that the possibility of extending the ceasefire was "very low," preferring a permanent agreement to end the war with Iran.

However, internal divisions between hardliners and reformist moderates appear to have hindered the Iranian negotiating team from reaching an agreement with the United States.

It remains uncertain whether the additional time will allow Tehran to resolve these internal divisions.

Trump has been pressing Tehran for an agreement, initiating a naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month after the ceasefire began.

With the maritime blockade in place, time is expected to work against Iran. However, it is unclear whether the Iranian military will follow the Revolutionary Guard leadership or President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Hardliners in the military are known to support Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.

The moderates, led by Pezeshkian, are of the position that an end-of-war agreement should be reached with the United States to prevent economic collapse. On the other hand, the hardliners who follow Khamenei are reportedly determined to resist and are strongly angered by Pezeshkian's moderate stance.

Meanwhile, shortly after taking office, Mojtaba Khamenei sent a letter to President Pezeshkian ordering him to purge "internal enemies (spies)," and it is estimated that over 500 internal figures have been purged since then.

However, recently, hardliners, centered around the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), have been gaining de facto control, showing a trend of completely neutralizing President Masoud Pezeshkian's moderate government.

The Revolutionary Guard is systematically blocking President Pezeshkian's key personnel appointments, with the recent attempt to appoint an intelligence minister being thwarted by the intervention of Revolutionary Guard Commander Ahmad Vahidi as a prime example.

President Pezeshkian is demanding that administrative and executive powers be returned to the civilian government, but the military has refused, leading to a "complete political stalemate," according to media reports.

President Pezeshkian has warned that "Iran's economy will collapse completely within a month if the ceasefire is not achieved," criticizing the military's hardline approach.

However, as internal purges continue, it is observed that in a theocratic system traditionally led by clergy, a "militarization of the state" is accelerating, where armed military institutions (IRGC) are now taking all practical decision-making power. 

US NNP=Sung Ku Hong, Editor-in-Chief / Special Correspondent NNP info@newsandpost.com