Trump announces Iran ceasefire extension
US President Donald Trump says the United States is extending its ceasefire with Iran at Pakistan’s request as he waits for a unified Iranian proposal.
Source: US Central Command
US President Donald Trump has backed down on his threats against Iran and announced he will extend the ceasefire as the deadline looms.
On Tuesday (AEST), Trump said an extension was “highly unlikely” if a deal was not reached.
But posting to Truth Social on Wednesday morning, Trump said he was responding to Pakistan’s request to “hold our attack on the country”.
“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,” he said.
Trump said the decision because Iran’s government “is seriously fractured” amid the peace negotiations.
He did not say how long the ceasefire extension would last.
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There was also confusion on the expiry of the previous two-week ceasefire, with Iran saying it due early on Wednesday (late Wednesday AEST) and Trump putting it at the end of Wednesday in Washington (Thursday morning AEST).
The announcement came as US Vice President JD Vance called off his trip to Pakistan for a second round of peace talks.
Pakistan had been preparing to host the talks despite the uncertainty.
Nearly 20,000 security personnel had been deployed across Islamabad, officials said.
Earlier, Iran said it was yet to decide whether to attend the talks after US forces boarded a huge Iranian oil tanker at sea with just a day left before the ceasefire ran out in the war in the Gulf.
A spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, Esmaeil Baghaei, described the boarding of the tanker, as well as the seizure of a separate cargo ship on Sunday, as “piracy at sea and state terrorism”, which he said called into question the seriousness of the US in negotiating.
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“The aggression against Iranian ships and the continued pressure indicate the continuation of the opposing side’s contradictory behaviour,” Baghaei said.
Another Iranian Major General, Abdullahi Mohammed, told Fars news agency the military would not allow the “lying and delusional US President” to “create false narratives of the situation on the ground”.
Pakistan’s Information Minister, Attaullah Tarar, said in a post on X that it was still waiting for Iran’s reply to its invitation: “Pakistan as the mediator is in constant touch with Iranians and pursuing the path of diplomacy and dialogue.”
The US military said its forces had boarded a tanker under sanctions for trading with Iran, the Tifani, in an operation that took place “without incident”.
The vessel last reported its position on Tuesday morning as near Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean, according to MarineTraffic tracking data.
It was close to fully loaded with two million barrels of crude and had signalled Singapore as its destination.
Iranian officials have publicly cited a US blockade of their ships as a reason not to negotiate.
On social media, Trump said Iran had carried out numerous violations of the ceasefire, without giving further details.
He told CNBC that the blockade had been a success and the US was in a strong position to end up with a “great deal”.
-with AAP
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