US President Donald Trump indefinitely extended the ceasefire with Iran yesterday, hours before it was set to expire, to allow the two countries to continue peace talks to end a war that has killed thousands of people and shaken the global economy.
In a statement on social media, Trump said he had agreed to a request by Pakistan, which has mediated peace talks, ‘to hold our attack on Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal’.
Trump said he extended the ceasefire, which began two weeks ago, until Iran’s ‘proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other’.
It was the latest instance of Trump backing down from his repeated threats to bomb power plants and other civilian infrastructure in Iran. United Nations Secretary General António Guterres and others have said international humanitarian law forbids such attacks.
Trump announced an extension of the ceasefire to give negotiations more time, until Iran submits a proposal.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Trump for accepting the country’s request to extend the ceasefire to allow ongoing diplomatic efforts to take their course.
“I sincerely hope that both sides will continue to observe the ceasefire and be able to conclude a comprehensive ‘Peace Deal’ during the second round of talks scheduled at Islamabad for a permanent end to the conflict,” Sharif said in post on X.
Trump, who with Israel launched the war on Iran on February 28, said he decided to extend the ceasefire because ‘the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so’, a reference to US-Israeli assassinations of some of the country’s leaders, including the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has been succeeded by his son.
Trump said he would continue the US Navy’s blockade of Iran’s ports and shore, which Iran’s leaders have said is an act of war. The US blockade became a sticking point as the two countries wavered this week on whether to send negotiators to a second round of peace talks in Islamabad.
The ceasefire extension came only a few hours after Trump had said he was not inclined to continue the temporary truce and the US military was ‘raring to go’. He told CNBC in an interview that the US was in a strong negotiating position and would end up with what he called ‘a great deal’.
A White House official said Vice President J D Vance’s trip to Pakistan will not be happening today in light of Trump’s Truth Social post. He was due to lead the US delegation in peace talks.
“In light of President Trump’s TRUTH Social post confirming the United States is awaiting a unified proposal from the Iranians, the trip to Pakistan will not be happening today. Any further updates on in-person meetings will be announced by the White House,” the official said.
Thousands of people have been killed since the war began in countries across the Middle East, and the global economy has been shaken by the virtual closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for oil and gas.
Iran has largely blocked off the Strait of Hormuz that controls access to the Gulf to all ships but its own. It had announced last week that it would reopen the strait, but reversed that decision on Saturday after Trump refused to lift his blockade of Iranian ports.
That has left the strait closed and the world deprived of the 20 million barrels of oil that typically crossed it each day.
A first session of talks 10 days ago produced no agreement and Tehran had been ruling out a second round after the US refused to end its blockade and seized an Iranian cargo ship.
Wall Street stocks turned mostly lower, while global equities dipped as optimism over peace talks faded. Oil prices climbed about three per cent.
Trump wants an agreement that would prevent further oil price rises and stock market shocks, but has insisted Iran cannot have the means to develop a nuclear weapon. He wants Iran to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which can, if further enriched, be used for a nuclear warhead.
Tehran hopes to exploit its control of the strait to strike a deal that averts a restart of the war and lifts sanctions, while retaining more of its nuclear programme, which it says is for peaceful purposes.
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