US to extend its ceasefire with Iran
Strait of Hormuz key to negotiations
A woman holds a picture of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the U.S. and Israel strikes on Feb. 28, during a campaign in support of the government at the Enqelab-e-Eslami, or Islamic Revolution, Square in downtown Tehran, Iran, April 13. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, file)
ISLAMABAD (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday the United States was indefinitely extending its ceasefire with Iran — a day before it was to expire — as a new round of peace talks was on hold. The announcement appeared to ease fears that the fighting, which had shaken energy markets and the global economy, would promptly resume.
Pakistan had planned to host a second round of talks, but the White House put on hold Vice President JD Vance’s planned trip to Islamabad as Iran rebuffed efforts to restart negotiations.
Iran has not yet responded to Trump’s announcement of the ceasefire extension. Both countries have warned that, without a deal, they were prepared to resume fighting.
Pakistani leaders, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, worked intensively to get both sides to agree to a second round of ceasefire talks, according to two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Sharif later thanked Trump for his “gracious acceptance” of Pakistan’s request, saying the ceasefire extension would allow ongoing diplomatic efforts to proceed.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told Iran’s state TV there has been “no final decision” on whether to agree to more talks because of “unacceptable actions” by the U.S., apparently referring to the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.
In a Truth Social post announcing the ceasefire extension, Trump said the U.S. would continue the blockade.
As Vance put on hold a return trip to Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were expected in Washington for consultations about how to proceed, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations.
The official cautioned that Trump could change his mind on negotiating with Iran at any time, and declined to predict what would happen. The official said Trump has options short of restarting airstrikes.
Before announcing the ceasefire extension, Trump had warned that “lots of bombs” will “start going off” if there’s no agreement before the Wednesday deadline, while Iran’s chief negotiator said that Tehran has “new cards on the battlefield” that haven’t yet been revealed.
A senior commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to destroy the region’s oil industry if war with the U.S. resumes. “If southern neighbors allow the enemy to use their facilities to attack Iran, they should say goodbye to oil production in the Middle East region,” Gen. Majid Mousavi told an Iranian news site.
Iran’s envoy to the United Nations said Tuesday that Tehran has “received some sign” that the U.S. is ready to stop its blockade of Iranian ports.
Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said ending the blockade remains a condition for Iran to rejoin peace talks. When that happens, he said, “I think the next round of the negotiations will take place.”
The U.S. imposed the blockade to pressure Tehran into ending its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane through which 20% of the world’s natural gas and crude oil transits in peacetime.
Iran’s grip on the strait has sent oil prices soaring. Brent crude, the international standard, was trading at close to $95 per barrel on Tuesday, up more than 30% from Feb. 28, the day that Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran to start the war.
Before the war began, the Strait of Hormuz had been fully open to international shipping. Trump has demanded that vessels again be allowed to transit unimpeded.
Over the weekend, Iran said that it had received new proposals from Washington, but also suggested that a wide gap remains between the sides. Issues that derailed the previous round of negotiations included Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, its regional proxies and the strait.
On Tuesday, the U.S. said its forces boarded an oil tanker previously sanctioned for smuggling Iranian crude oil in Asia. The Pentagon said in a social media post that U.S. forces boarded the M/T Tifani “without incident.”
The U.S. military did not say where the vessel had been boarded, though ship-tracking data showed the Tifani in the Indian Ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia on Tuesday. The Pentagon statement added that “international waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels.”
The U.S. military on Sunday seized an Iranian container ship, the first interception under the blockade. Iran’s joint military command called the armed boarding an act of piracy and a violation of the ceasefire.





