President Donald Trump said he was extending a ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday, just hours before it was set to expire. The announcement came after Vice President JD Vance’s trip to Pakistan for a second round of negotiations with Iran was put on hold because, according to a U.S. official, Tehran failed to respond to American positions.
The president announced Truth Social. He said he had received a request from Pakistan, which is attempting to mediate an end to the war, to hold off any attacks. Trump said a ceasefire would stay in effect until Iran’s “leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal.” Iran did not immediately respond to the news.
Trump’s announcement was a marked departure from his comments earlier in the day, when he told CNBC that if Iran did not agree to U.S. demand, “I expect to be bombing.”
He also said the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would continue.
Iran, for its part, had earlier called for the United States to lift its naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, called the blockade “an act of war.”
Even if the two sides return to the negotiating table, many sticking points remain, chiefly on Iran’s nuclear program and on the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic conduit for oil and gas. The threat of Iranian attacks has throttled shipping traffic through the strait, prompting
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