U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday america was indefinitely extending its ceasefire with Iran — a day before it was to run out — as a brand new round of peace talks was on hold. The announcement appeared to ease fears that the fighting, which had shaken energy markets and the worldwide economy, would promptly resume.
Pakistan had planned to host a second round of talks, however the White House placed 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. Each countries have warned that, with out a deal, they were prepared to resume fighting.
Pakistan scrambles to get US and Iran to barter
Pakistani leaders, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, worked intensively to get each side to conform to a second round of ceasefire talks, in accordance with two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk 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 was “no final decision” on whether to conform to more talks due to “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 proceed the blockade.
As Vance placed 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 on Tuesday afternoon for consultations about the best way to proceed, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to debate 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 occur. The official said Trump has options wanting restarting airstrikes.
Each side remain dug in rhetorically
Before announcing the ceasefire extension, Trump had warned that “numerous bombs” will “start going off” if there’s no agreement before the Wednesday deadline, while Iran’s chief negotiator said that Tehran has “recent cards on the battlefield” that haven’t yet been revealed.
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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 make use of their facilities to attack Iran, they need to say goodbye to grease production within the Middle East region,” Gen. Majid Mousavi told an Iranian news site.
Strait of Hormuz control key to negotiations
Iran’s envoy to the United Nations said Tuesday that Tehran has “received some sign” that the U.S. is able to stop its blockade of Iranian ports.
Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said ending the blockade stays a condition for Iran to rejoin peace talks. When that happens, he said, “I believe the following round of the negotiations will happen.”
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 near $95 per barrel on Tuesday, up greater than 30% from Feb. 28, the day that Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran to begin 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 recent proposals from Washington, but additionally suggested that a large gap stays between the edges. Issues that derailed the previous round of negotiations included Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, its regional proxies and the strait.
US says its forces board sanctioned oil tanker
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 didn’t say where the vessel had been boarded, though ship-tracking data showed the Tifani within the Indian Ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia on Tuesday. The Pentagon statement added that “international waters usually are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels.”
The U.S. military on Sunday seized an Iranian container ship, the primary interception under the blockade. Iran’s joint military command called the armed boarding an act of piracy and a violation of the ceasefire.
Pakistan hopeful talks will proceed
Pakistani officials have expressed confidence that Iran may even send a delegation to resume the talks — the highest-level negotiations between the U.S. and Iran for the reason that 1979 Islamic Revolution. The primary round April 11 and 12 ended without an agreement.
Pakistan said Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met Tuesday individually with the U.S. and China’s top diplomats in Islamabad. China is a key trading partner of Iran.
Security has been tightened across Islamabad, where authorities have deployed 1000’s of personnel and increased patrols along routes resulting in the airport.
Talks between Israel and Lebanon to resume
In Lebanon, the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah said in an announcement it had fired rockets and drones at Israeli forces for the primary time since 10-day truce took effect last Friday “in response to the blatant and documented violations” by Israel.
Those violations, it said, included “attacks on civilians and the destruction of their homes and villages in southern Lebanon.”
The Israeli army said it responded by striking the group’s rocket launcher. Israeli officials have said they intend to take care of a buffer zone in southern Lebanon — an area that features dozens of villages whose residents haven’t been allowed to return.
Historic diplomatic talks between Israel and Lebanon are to resume on Thursday in Washington, an Israeli, a Lebanese and a U.S. official said. All three spoke on condition of anonymity to debate the behind-the-scenes negotiations.
The Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors met last week for the primary direct diplomatic talks in a long time. Israel says the talks are geared toward disarming Hezbollah and reaching a peace agreement with Lebanon.
Israel’s military said Tuesday it has sentenced two soldiers to 30 days in jail and removed them from combat duty for smashing a statue of Jesus Christ in Lebanon. Images of an Israeli soldier with a sledgehammer smashing the statue’s head emerged over the weekend, bringing widespread condemnation.
Israel said certainly one of the soldiers being punished hammered the statue to the bottom. The opposite filmed the destruction. The Israeli military said it replaced the statue.
Fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah broke out two days after the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran to begin the war. In Lebanon, the fighting has killed greater than 2,290 people.
For the reason that war began, at the very least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran, in accordance with authorities. Moreover, 23 people have died in Israel and greater than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 U.S. service members throughout the region have been killed.
Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Lee from Washington. Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price, Aamer Madhani and Darlene Superville in Washington; Samy Magdy in Cairo; David Rising and Huizhong Wu in Bangkok; Julia Frankel in Latest York; Bill Barrow in Atlanta, Edith M. Lederer and Farnoush Amiri on the United Nations; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed to this report.