Islamabad: President Donald Trump said Tuesday the United States is extending its ceasefire with Iran at Pakistan’s request as he waits for a unified proposal from the Islamic Republic.
The announcement came as last-minute ceasefire talks between the US and Iran looked uncertain and a two-week truce was set to expire Wednesday.
Earlier, the White House put on hold Vice President JD Vance’s expected trip to Islamabad for a second round of talks as Tehran – at least for the time-being – has balked at further talks.
In a Truth Social post announcing the ceasefire extension, Trump also said the US military would continue it’s blockade of Iranian ports.
As last-minute ceasefire talks between the US and Iran looked uncertain, both countries warned that, without a deal, they were prepared to resume fighting.
Pakistani leaders, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, worked intensively late Tuesday to get both sides to agree to a second round of ceasefire talks, according to two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told Iran’s state TV there has been “no final decision” on whether to attend because of “unacceptable actions” by the US, apparently referencing its recent blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.
As Vance put 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 how to proceed, said a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss 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 happen if the current ceasefire expires without another meeting. The official said Trump has options short of restarting airstrikes.
Both sides remain dug in rhetorically
Before announcing the ceasefire extension, Trump had warned that “lots of bombs” will “start going off” if there’s no agreement before the Wednesday deadline, while Iran’s chief negotiator said that Tehran has “new cards on the battlefield” that haven’t yet been revealed.
A senior commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to destroy the region’s oil industry if war with the United States resumes. “If southern neighbors allow the enemy to use their facilities to attack Iran, they should say goodbye to oil production in 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 US is ready to stop its blockade of Iranian ports. The US had made no public statements about lifting the blockade.
Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said ending the blockade remains a condition for Iran to rejoin peace talks. When that happens, he said, “I think the next round of the negotiations will take place.”
The US 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 close to $95 per barrel on Tuesday, up more than 30% from Feb. 28, the day that Israel and the US attacked Iran to start 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 new proposals from Washington, but also suggested that a wide gap remains between the sides. Issues that derailed the last 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 US 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 US forces boarded the M/T Tifani “without incident.”
The US military did not say where the vessel had been boarded, though ship-tracking data showed the Tifani in the Indian Ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia on Tuesday. The Pentagon statement added that “international waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels.”
The US military on Sunday seized an Iranian container ship, the first 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 will also send a delegation to resume talks that mark the highest-level negotiations between the US and Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The first round April 11 and 12 ended without an agreement.
Pakistan said Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met Tuesday with the acting US ambassador in Islamabad to urge a ceasefire extension. Dar also met with the ambassador from China, a key trading partner with Iran.
Security has been tightened across Pakistan’s capital, where authorities have deployed thousands of personnel and increased patrols along routes leading to the airport.
Israel jails soldiers for defacing Jesus statue in 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 one of the soldiers being punished hammered the statue to the ground. The other filmed the destruction. The Israeli military said it replaced the statue.
Meanwhile, historic diplomatic talks between Israel and Lebanon were set to resume on Thursday in Washington, an Israeli, a Lebanese and a US official said. All three spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the behind-the-scenes negotiations.
The Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors met last week for the first direct diplomatic talks in decades. Israel says the talks are aimed at disarming Hezbollah and reaching a peace agreement with Lebanon.
A 10-day ceasefire began on Friday in Lebanon, where fighting between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants broke out two days after the US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran to start the war. Fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 2,290 people.
Since the war started, at least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran, according to authorities. Additionally, 23 people have died in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 US service members throughout the region have been killed.
AP
