Trump extends ceasefire, says giving Iran time to negotiate

A man reads a newspaper with a front page article referring to anticipated US-Iran peace talks, at a stall in Islamabad on April 22, 2026. [AFP] President Donald Trump extended the US ceasefire with Iran to allow more time for peace talks, with Tehran silent on the decision early Wednesday. Trump indefinitely pushed back the end of the two-week truce, crediting a request from mediator Pakistan and stressing the need to give Iran's "fractured" leadership time to form a proposal. But he said the US blockade of Iran's ports -- a sticking point for Tehran -- would continue. In a Truth social post Tuesday, the US president accused Iran of wanting to keep the Strait of Hormuz open "so they can make $500 Million Dollars a day," which he said the Gulf nation would risk losing if it remains closed. Trump insisted in the post that keeping a US blockade of the strait, a critical waterway for about a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas exports, is vital for forging a deal with Iran. "People approached me four days ago, saying, 'Sir, Iran wants to open up the Strait, immediately.' But if we do that, there can never be a Deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their Country, their leaders included!," Trump said in the post. In an earlier social media post, Trump indicated that he had no desire to extend the ceasefire and had warned of a resumption of bombing when it expired. "I have... directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their (Iran's) proposal is submitted," Trump wrote on social media. Ahead of Trump's eleventh-hour intervention, it had been unclear when the original ceasefire would expire, with Pakistan indicating it would end at 2350 GMT Tuesday. This moment came and went with no reports of new military activity by Iran, which had said the ceasefire would end at 0000 GMT. Iran are yet to respond to Trump's ceasefire extension. The fate of peace talks hosted by Pakistan was left hanging in the balance following Trump's announcement. A White House official confirmed that Vice President JD Vance would not travel to Pakistan for talks Tuesday as previously planned, pending the submission of an Iranian proposal. In Islamabad, heavily armed police and soldiers secured the city's government quarter on Tuesday, which was virtually shut down even as no Iranian-US meeting was fixed. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Trump for extending the ceasefire., with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also welcoming it. As the original ceasefire deadline drew in, Iran preemptively threatened to attack its Gulf neighbors' oil production facilities if their territory was used to attack it once the ceasefire expired. Since the first round of talks in Islamabad, Trump announced a blockade of Iranian ports, which US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said would remain in place. "In a matter of days, Kharg Island storage will be full and the fragile Iranian oil wells will be shut in," Bessent said in an X post Tuesday, adding that constraining Iran's maritime trade will target its "primary revenue lifelines." He warned: "Any person or vessel facilitating these flows-through covert trade and finance-risks exposure to U.S. sanctions." The US Defense Department said Tuesday that its forces intercepted and boarded a "stateless sanctioned" vessel as part of Washington's efforts. AFP has identified the vessel as one affiliated with Iranian activity. Both sides have accused the other of ceasefire breaches. - 'Cursed ceasefire' - Residents in the Iranian capital who spoke to Paris-based AFP journalists say life has only worsened despite the truce. "This cursed ceasefire has broken us," said Saghar, 39. "I don't know anyone around me who is doing well." Experts said Iran's noncommittal public stance was an attempt to put pressure on Washington. "The current standoff between the United States and Iran is no longer a clash of capabilities but rather a struggle of political endurance and bargaining leverage," Daniel Byman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies wrote in a commentary. Despite the ongoing uncertainty, stocks rose on Tuesday amid lingering hopes for a deal to end the conflict. - Islamabad lockdown - On another front in the war, Israel and Lebanon, which have no diplomatic relations, will hold fresh talks in Washington on Thursday, a State Department official told AFP. A separate 10-day ceasefire was agreed between the two nations on Friday and included Hezbollah, whose rocket fire in support of Iran drew Lebanon into the wider Mideast conflict. Sporadic violence has continued and Israel's military warned civilians against returning to dozens of villages in southern Lebanon. The Israeli army said on Tuesday the "Hezbollah terrorist organization launched several rockets" at its troops in Lebanon, adding it had "struck the launcher from which the rockets were launched." Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 2,454 people since the start of the war, a Lebanese government body said in its latest toll. Hezbollah said it launched an attack on northern Israel on Tuesday in retaliation for what it said were Israeli violations of the ceasefire, the first such claim since the truce began.

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