Trump Indefinitely Extends U.S. Ceasefire With Iran After Pakistan Request

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States would indefinitely extend its ceasefire with Iran, a move he tied to Pakistan’s request and to Washington awaiting a “unified proposal” from Tehran.

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The Outlook Business account says Trump “indefinitely extend[s] the April 22 ceasefire deadline” while Washington awaits that proposal amid naval tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, and it adds that Vice President JD Vance’s Islamabad visit for a second round of talks was postponed as Iran hesitates to rejoin negotiations.

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CNBC similarly reports that Trump extended the two-week U.S. ceasefire with Iran, saying the extension was warranted because Tehran’s government is “seriously fractured,” and that it would continue “until such time as” Iran’s leaders submit a “unified proposal” to end the war with the U.S. and Israel.

NPR frames the same decision as Trump extending the ceasefire at Pakistan’s request to give Iranian officials more time to present a “unified proposal,” while also noting that the extension was announced just hours before it was set to expire.

In the AP account, Trump made the extension “a day before it was to expire” as a new round of peace talks was on hold, and it says the announcement “appeared to ease fears that the fighting… would promptly resume.”

Across these reports, Trump’s stated rationale repeatedly returns to the idea that the U.S. is being asked to “hold” its attack while negotiations proceed, and he directed the U.S. military to continue the blockade.

The AP account also says Pakistan had planned to host a second round of talks, but the White House put on hold Vance’s planned trip to Islamabad as Iran rebuffed efforts to restart negotiations.

Pakistan’s role as mediator runs through multiple accounts, with Trump’s extension explicitly linked to requests from Pakistani leaders and with negotiations repeatedly described as being delayed or put on hold.

Outlook Business says “Pakistan steps in as mediator” and that “Vice President JD Vance’s Islamabad visit for second-round talks postponed” as Iran hesitates to rejoin negotiations, while it also says Tehran and Washington are waiting for a “unified proposal” amid the U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

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NPR reports that Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Trump for the ceasefire extension on X and wrote, “With the trust and confidence reposed in, Pakistan shall continue its earnest efforts for negotiated settlement of conflict,” and it adds that Vance remained in Washington instead of flying to Islamabad because “Additional policy meetings are taking place at the White House.”

The AP account likewise says Pakistan “worked intensively to get both sides to agree to a second round of ceasefire talks,” and it quotes Sharif thanking Trump for his “gracious acceptance” of Pakistan’s request.

CNBC adds that Trump’s announcement came after reports that Vance’s expected trip to Pakistan for a second round of peace talks had been put on hold, and it notes that Tasnim reported negotiators from Tehran had informed their U.S. counterparts through an intermediary in Pakistan that they would not appear for further talks.

Daily Express US says Vance calls off Iran peace talks as “the two-week ceasefire is set to expire Tuesday evening,” and it describes uncertainty about whether Iran would even show up before the talks were paused.

In the same NPR report, Iran’s semiofficial outlet Tasnim is cited as saying Iran notified Pakistan it would not be sending a delegation for talks on Wednesday, and it also says Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote that the continuing U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports is “an act of war and thus a violation of the ceasefire.”

While Trump extended the ceasefire, multiple reports show him continuing to condition the pause on negotiations and to keep military pressure in place, including through the blockade.

In a statement carried by CNBC, Trump said, “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,” and he added, “I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able.”

NPR similarly quotes Trump’s Truth Social language about holding the attack and continuing the blockade, and it notes that Trump did not specify how much longer the ceasefire will continue.

Daily Express US adds that Trump told the conservative radio show “The John Fredericks Show” on Monday that “Well, they’re going to negotiate, and if they don’t, they’re going to see problems like they’ve never seen before,” and it quotes him saying, “Hopefully they’ll make a fair deal, and they’ll build their country back up.”

The AP account says both countries warned that without a deal they were prepared to resume fighting, and it reports that before announcing the extension Trump warned that “lots of bombs” will “start going off” if there’s no agreement before the Wednesday deadline.

On the Iranian side, CNBC reports that an advisor to the speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, called the ceasefire extension “a ploy to buy time” for a surprise strike, and it also says the advisor argued the continued blockade of Iranian ports by the U.S. Navy is “no different from bombardment and must be met with a military response.”

NPR adds that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the continuing U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports is “an act of war and thus a violation of the ceasefire,” and it also quotes an Iranian response on X from Mahdi Mohammadi saying, “Trump's ceasefire extension means nothing, the losing side cannot dictate terms.”

Across the reports, the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program remain the central sticking points, with the U.S. linking the ceasefire extension to conditions about reopening shipping and limiting nuclear enrichment.

CNBC says “A key point of conflict remains the Strait of Hormuz,” describing it as “a major route for global oil transit,” and it reports that Trump said he agreed to the ceasefire on condition that the strait be fully reopened, while traffic stayed at a “relative trickle.”

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NPR provides additional detail, saying the Trump administration wants “commercial shipping through the strategic waterway to be fully restored,” and it adds that “Around 20% of the world’s crude oil and natural gas typically passes through the narrow strait.”

NPR also states that after the U.S. and Israel started to attack Iran on Feb. 28, Iran began to exert control over the Strait of Hormuz, preventing most commercial ships from transiting and collecting steep tolls from some of the few that did, and it notes that Iran’s grip on the strait “has rattled global markets.”

On the nuclear front, NPR says “The other big demand coming from Washington centers on Iran's nuclear program — and whether Tehran will accept limits on nuclear enrichment,” and it states that Trump has said one objective is to ensure Iran “never has a nuclear weapon.”

CNBC similarly notes that disagreements persist over Iran’s uranium enrichment programme, with Tehran calling U.S. demands “excessive” despite UN backing for continued diplomacy, and it says Washington asked Tehran to surrender its uranium enrichment and agree to a 20-year moratorium on the same.

In the AP account, the U.S. imposed the blockade to pressure Tehran into ending its “stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz,” and it reports that ending the blockade remains a condition for Iran to rejoin peace talks, with Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani saying, “I think the next round of the negotiations will take place.”

Even as the ceasefire is extended, the sources describe enforcement actions and market pressure that keep the situation volatile, with the U.S. continuing a blockade and Iran threatening responses.

The AP account says the U.S. imposed the blockade to pressure Tehran into ending its “stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz,” and it reports that Brent crude was trading at close to $95 per barrel on Tuesday, up more than 30% from Feb. 28, the day that Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran to start the war.

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AP also reports that the U.S. said its forces boarded an oil tanker previously sanctioned for smuggling Iranian crude oil in Asia, and it says the Pentagon stated that U.S. forces boarded the M/T Tifani “without incident,” adding that “international waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels.”

It further says the U.S. military on Sunday seized an Iranian container ship, the first interception under the blockade, and that Iran’s joint military command called the armed boarding… (the excerpt ends mid-sentence).

NPR similarly describes how Iran’s control of the strait “has rattled global markets,” and it states that the national average price of gas rose above $4 a gallon.

CNBC adds that Iranian officials accused the U.S. of breaching commitments under a 10-point framework that Iran offered at the start of a fragile ceasefire, and it says Iran effectively closed the strait at the start of the war.

The AP account also includes threats from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, quoting Gen. Majid Mousavi saying, “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,” and it reports that Tehran’s envoy to the United Nations said Tuesday that ending the blockade remains a condition for Iran to rejoin peace talks.