Quill Lawrence

Yesterday, with the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, Iran announced it would open the Strait to commercial traffic for the duration of that ceasefire, but only along this prescribed route close to the Iranian coast.

But then the U.S.

said it would maintain its blockade of Iranian ports while those peace talks continue.

So perhaps in response today, Iran's military said, no, the strait remains closed until the U.S.

lifts its blockade of Iran.

So it's been a confusing, what, 24 hours with a lot of questions left about is the strait reclosed or never really open to shipping.

And so where does that put the ceasefire between the U.S.

and Iran?

Well, officially, it's set to expire on Tuesday, April 21st.

There's talk of extending that deadline.

One source on Capitol Hill, who's not authorized to speak publicly, told NPR that he's hearing at least the Pakistanis who are hosting these talks want to extend them.

President Trump has said that a deal with Iran is very close.

And yesterday he told reporters, quote, I think it's going to happen.

The next step could be direct talks between the U.S.

and Iran, most likely there in Pakistan.

And President Trump told reporters that if there's a deal, he might even go there and show up in person.

But of course, that was before the news that Iran closed the strait.

At this point, the deal is

seems probably to hinge on a pause in Iran's nuclear enrichment program.

The administration wants a 20-year pause while Iran is talking about a five-year pause, so there'll be some haggling over that timeline.