US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that he will be extending the ceasefire with Iran upon request from Pakistan, the lead mediator in ongoing negotiations.
Trump said that Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir have urged him to hold off attacks on Iran until Tehran’s leaders can come up with a “unified proposal”.
While the US President has announced the extension of ceasefire, he also said that the naval blockade of Iranian ports near the Strait of Hormuz will continue. “I have therefore 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 proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
The Republican’s big announcement may quell fears of an escalation in the war. Even as Trump said he would extend the truce, he continued to take potshots at Iran, saying the government there had been “seriously fractured”.
The announcement coincided with reports that Vice President JD Vance’s trip to Pakistan for talks has been put on hold. While Trump had long confirmed that the US delegation would attend the second round of negotiations, there was no official word on the same from Iran.
