Trump extends ceasefire, Iran says it won’t go to Pakistan talks

US President Donald Trump indefinitely extended the ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday, hours before it was set to expire, to allow the two countries to continue peace talks.

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 the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal.”

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It was the latest instance of Trump backing down from his repeated threats to bomb power plants and other civilian infrastructure in Iran, which experts have warned could constitute war crimes.

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 Ali Khamenei, who has been succeeded by his son.

The ceasefire extension is a “ploy to buy time” for a surprise strike, an advisor to Iran’s parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said. Qalibaf’s advisor said in a post on X that the continuation of the US blockade on Iranian ports was “no different from bombardment and must be met with a military response.”

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.

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, and 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 Pakistani capital.

There appeared to be no immediate comment on Trump’s announcement, which came on Tuesday mid-afternoon Washington time, from Iran, Israel or Pakistan.

Earlier on Tuesday, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said Iran had informed Pakistan that it will not send a delegation to talks with the US.

“Despite all the media hype and speculation by US officials, the Iranian negotiating team has, for various reasons, informed the American side, via Pakistan, that it will not attend talks on Wednesday in Islamabad,” Tasnim reported.

“For now, there is no prospect for participating in the talks,” the report said.

With Reuters

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