Reuters
The White House considered but decided against a national televised address by President Donald Trump on Tuesday about his ceasefire deal with Iran, with some aides and advisers privately voicing concern about potentially overselling the still-nascent agreement, three U.S. officials told Reuters.
The decision suggests a balancing act by the Trump administration, which sought to project early confidence in the deal to pause fighting and open the Strait of Hormuz even as aides recognized its fragility. Discussions about Trump giving a national address have not been previously reported.
Ahead of talks slated to begin on Saturday in Islamabad, analysts say it is far from clear if the ceasefire will translate into a negotiated settlement to the conflict.
The sources said Trump was talked out of making the speech. But the White House, in a statement, denied the discussions rose to Trump's level, saying, "This is fake news.
This was never even discussed with the president."
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal White House deliberations.
Trump ended up announcing the ceasefire in a social media post just hours before a Tuesday evening deadline, after which he had threatened to destroy Iran's entire civilization.
The reversal was one of the most sudden wartime U-turns by an American president.
One of the sources said Trump was "adamant" about delivering the address. The officials said it had been under consideration, but the White House did not move forward with it because details of the ceasefire were still shaky.
Trump's senior advisers were working through what was in the deal and did not think they had enough clarity for the president to address the nation, the sources said.
The previous week, on April 1, Trump delivered a 19-minute prime-time address to Americans, staunchly defending his handling of the war and outlining plans for aggressive strikes on Iran over the next two to three weeks. Another address would have allowed him to explain the change in course.
One senior White House official acknowledged internal discussions about Trump addressing the nation on Tuesday night.
"There was chatter about it, but obviously it didn't come to fruition, and we didn't alert the networks or anything; it didn't get that far," the official told Reuters, without confirming Trump was talked out of giving an address.
The ceasefire has halted U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran. But it has not ended the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has caused the biggest-ever disruption to global energy supplies, or calmed a parallel war waged by Israel against Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The strait remained shut on Friday and Israel traded fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, two disputes which the U.S. and Iran each described respectively as violations of their ceasefire deal on the eve of their first peace talks of the war.
Trump has vented his frustration, posting that Iran was dishonoring the deal and saying earlier on Friday: "The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!"
The decision suggests a balancing act by the Trump administration, which sought to project early confidence in the deal to pause fighting and open the Strait of Hormuz even as aides recognized its fragility. Discussions about Trump giving a national address have not been previously reported.
Ahead of talks slated to begin on Saturday in Islamabad, analysts say it is far from clear if the ceasefire will translate into a negotiated settlement to the conflict.
The sources said Trump was talked out of making the speech. But the White House, in a statement, denied the discussions rose to Trump's level, saying, "This is fake news.
This was never even discussed with the president."
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal White House deliberations.
Trump ended up announcing the ceasefire in a social media post just hours before a Tuesday evening deadline, after which he had threatened to destroy Iran's entire civilization.
The reversal was one of the most sudden wartime U-turns by an American president.
One of the sources said Trump was "adamant" about delivering the address. The officials said it had been under consideration, but the White House did not move forward with it because details of the ceasefire were still shaky.
Trump's senior advisers were working through what was in the deal and did not think they had enough clarity for the president to address the nation, the sources said.
The previous week, on April 1, Trump delivered a 19-minute prime-time address to Americans, staunchly defending his handling of the war and outlining plans for aggressive strikes on Iran over the next two to three weeks. Another address would have allowed him to explain the change in course.
One senior White House official acknowledged internal discussions about Trump addressing the nation on Tuesday night.
"There was chatter about it, but obviously it didn't come to fruition, and we didn't alert the networks or anything; it didn't get that far," the official told Reuters, without confirming Trump was talked out of giving an address.
The ceasefire has halted U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran. But it has not ended the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has caused the biggest-ever disruption to global energy supplies, or calmed a parallel war waged by Israel against Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The strait remained shut on Friday and Israel traded fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, two disputes which the U.S. and Iran each described respectively as violations of their ceasefire deal on the eve of their first peace talks of the war.
Trump has vented his frustration, posting that Iran was dishonoring the deal and saying earlier on Friday: "The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!"
