President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the United States will extend a ceasefire with Iran until Tehran’s leaders present a unified negotiating proposal.
The decision came hours before the two-week truce was set to expire on Wednesday. Trump said in a social media post that he acted following requests from Pakistan’s top officials, who are serving as mediators in the conflict.
“Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The president said he has directed the U.S. military to continue a naval blockade of Iranian ports and remain prepared for action. He wrote that the ceasefire will stay in place “until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other.”
The extension marks a reversal from Trump’s position a day earlier, when he said it was “highly unlikely” he would prolong the truce without a deal.
Trump’s announcement followed a period of uncertainty over whether a new round of U.S.-Iran talks would take place in Islamabad. Vice President JD Vance had put his planned trip to Pakistan on hold after Tehran failed to respond to American positions, according to The New York Times.
Iran has not formally announced whether it will send a negotiating team to Pakistan. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told state television that the lack of a decision was not due to indecisiveness but because of “contradictory messages and behaviors, and unacceptable actions from the American counterpart.”
Tensions between the two countries remain high. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the U.S. naval blockade as “an act of war and thus a violation of the ceasefire.”
The U.S. military interdicted and boarded a sanctioned vessel in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday, the Pentagon said. The action followed the Navy’s seizure of an Iranian cargo ship on Sunday that tried to evade the maritime blockade.
Trump struck an optimistic tone earlier Tuesday in a CNBC interview, saying the U.S. would end up with a “great deal” with Iran. He said Washington is in a “very strong” negotiating position after military actions against Iran’s navy and air force.
“I think they have no choice,” Trump said.
He also reiterated a key American demand that Iran commit not to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran has previously resisted calls to abandon uranium enrichment, which international inspectors say has reached 60% purity, close to weapons-grade levels.
The ceasefire was first announced on April 8 and has broadly held since then. Washington and Tehran held an initial round of talks in Islamabad on April 11 and 12, which ended without an agreement. Vance participated in those discussions, marking the highest-level direct engagement between the two countries since 1979.
Despite the ceasefire extension, the U.S. blockade remains in place. Iran has responded by closing the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane through which about 20% of global oil passes.
The war between the U.S.-led coalition and Iran began on Feb. 28. The conflict has disrupted global energy markets and sent oil prices higher.
Pakistan has emerged as a key mediator in the crisis. Trump credited the country’s leadership with requesting the delay in military action to allow more time for diplomacy.