Tehran Stages Military Parades as Trump Indefinitely Extends US-Iran Ceasefire

Tehran staged large military parades on Tuesday as a US-Iran ceasefire deadline approached, with Al Jazeera describing “large crowds attending a military parade in Tehran on Tuesday as the US-Iran ceasefire deadline approached.”

The same Al Jazeera report says Donald Trump later stated the United States was “indefinitely extending” the ceasefire, shifting the immediate clock that had been set to expire.

Al Jazeera

AP reported that Trump announced the extension “a day before it was to expire,” and said the move appeared to ease fears that fighting would “promptly resume.”

AP also said Pakistan had planned to host a second round of talks, but “the White House put on hold Vice President JD Vance’s planned trip to Islamabad as Iran rebuffed efforts to restart negotiations.”

In Tehran, the political atmosphere around the truce was also framed as contested, with Iran’s state television and IRGC-affiliated outlets emphasizing a lack of interest in continuing negotiations, according to Iran International.

The Al Jazeera piece also situates the parades within a broader regional media environment, noting “Tehran held military parades as ceasefire was set to end” and that the event drew “large crowds.”

Taken together, the parade imagery and the ceasefire extension announcement created a fast-moving narrative: a deadline looming, then a new indefinite timeline, while negotiations remained uncertain.

Alongside the ceasefire extension, Washington’s posture of pressure remained central, with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reporting that “Washington Says Iran Blockade Will Continue Under 'Maximum Pressure'.”

The same report says US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that Washington would maintain its naval blockade of Iranian ports, predicting “storage at Kharg Island would soon fill and oil wells would be forced to shut,” and that the Treasury would continue “maximum pressure” sanctions targeting Tehran’s trade, finance and revenue networks.

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AP added that in a Truth Social post announcing the ceasefire extension, Trump said the United States would continue the blockade, and it described the blockade as tied to negotiations and the Strait of Hormuz.

AP also said Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told Iran’s state TV there has been “no final decision” on whether to agree to more talks because of “unacceptable actions” by the U.S., “apparently referring to the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.”

The diplomatic dispute was framed as inseparable from maritime control, with AP stating that the U.S. imposed the blockade to pressure Tehran into ending its “stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz,” and that the strait is a key shipping lane through which “20% of the world’s natural gas and crude oil transits in peacetime.”

In parallel, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said an internet monitor reported Iran’s digital blackout had entered its “53rd day,” with users disconnected from global networks for “1,248 hours,” underscoring the breadth of disruption beyond shipping.

The blockade theme also appeared in Al Jazeera Net’s account of the negotiation track, where a Pakistani security official said Army Chief Asim Munir told the American president plainly that “the naval blockade poses an obstacle to the talks,” and Trump replied he would “take that advice into account.”

As the ceasefire deadline approached, Iran International reported that opposition to talks in Tehran was growing and that it was “casting doubt over whether Iran will proceed with a new round of talks with the United States in Islamabad.”

“Iran paraded its missile capabilities through Tehran’s streets as the US-Iran ceasefire approaches its April 22 end”

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The outlet said state television claimed that “a majority of Iranians oppose further talks,” and it pointed to coverage from IRGC-affiliated outlets including Fars News Agency and Tasnim News Agency.

Iran International quoted Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, who led Iran’s delegation in the first round of talks, saying Tehran would not accept negotiations “under the shadow of threats,” and that it had spent the past two weeks preparing “to reveal new cards on the battlefield.”

The outlet also cited Ali Abdollahi, commander of Iran's Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters, warning that Iranian forces are prepared to deliver an “immediate and decisive response” to any violation of agreements or commitments.

On the US side, Iran International said President Donald Trump told CNBC on Tuesday that he does not intend to extend the ceasefire and that Washington is prepared for a military approach, while it also described hardline commentator Foad Izadi saying entering negotiations now would be a mistake.

Iran International further reported that opposition to talks surfaced within Iran’s parliament, with Vahid Ahmadi reaffirming Iran’s right to uranium enrichment under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and stating that enriched materials would “under no circumstances” be removed from the country.

At the same time, the outlet included warnings against abandoning diplomacy, quoting prominent Sunni cleric Molavi Abdolhamid: “The country’s skies are under enemy control, infrastructure is at risk of destruction, and the armed forces lack adequate air defense tools. In this deadlock, the only path to salvation is a ‘fair agreement.’”

Multiple outlets described a parallel diplomatic track and a battlefield posture that both sides used to shape the timing of talks.

Al Jazeera Net said the deadline for the ceasefire announced by Donald Trump on April 7 for two weeks would end at “8:00 p.m. Eastern Time (3:30 a.m. Tehran time) on Wednesday,” and it described mutual preconditions, maritime escalation, and disagreements over the nuclear issue.

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It also reported that a Pakistani security official said Army Chief Asim Munir told the American president that “the naval blockade poses an obstacle to the talks,” and that Trump replied he would “take that advice into account.”

Al Jazeera Net quoted Iran’s Speaker of the Parliament and top Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warning that Trump was trying to turn the negotiating table into a surrender table, accusing him of increasing pressure on Tehran through the blockade and violations of the ceasefire.

The outlet said Ghalibaf, via the X platform, revealed that Tehran would disclose new papers if the war resumes, adding “we do not accept negotiating under threat; over the past two weeks we were preparing to reveal new documents on the battlefield.”

It also described leaks reported by CNN from officials in the Trump administration, saying the president’s public remarks had harmed negotiations amid “deep distrust by Iranians toward the United States.”

On the US side, AP said 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 Tehran has “new cards on the battlefield” that haven’t yet been revealed.

Beyond diplomacy, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that Iran executed a man over alleged links to Mossad, saying Iran “has hanged a man after convicting him of alleged espionage and extensive cooperation with the Israeli spy agency Mossad.”

“Iran's Digital Blackout Enters 53rd Day, Says Internet Monitor The NetBlocks Internet connectivity monitor says Iran’s digital blackout has entered its 53rd day, with users disconnected from global networks for 1,248 hours”

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

The report said the judiciary upheld the death sentence on April 22 for Mehdi Farid, under the capital charge of “corruption on earth,” and it quoted the judiciary’s Mizan website that Farid had provided “sensitive information to Mossad.”

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

It added that Mizan claimed Farid was accused of “connecting the servers of a sensitive organization to infected files on the orders of a Mossad officer,” and it said human rights organizations had previously identified Farid as a former employee of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

In the same Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty package, it described Iran’s digital blackout entering its “53rd day,” and it said the NetBlocks monitor reported users disconnected from global networks for “1,248 hours.”

The report also described a maritime incident near Oman, stating that UKMTO received a report on April 22 of an incident “15 nautical miles northeast of Oman,” where a container ship captain said the vessel was approached by an Iranian Revolutionary Guards gunboat that “gave no radio warning before opening fire,” causing heavy damage to the bridge.

UKMTO said “no fire or pollution was reported and all crew were safe,” and it placed the incident in the same broader context of rising maritime tensions.

AP also described US military actions at sea, saying the US said its forces boarded an oil tanker previously sanctioned for smuggling Iranian crude oil in Asia, and that the Pentagon said U.S. forces boarded the M/T Tifani “without incident.”