US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (Apr 21) he would indefinitely extend the ceasefire with Iran, hours before it was set to expire, to allow the two countries to continue peace talks to end a war that has killed thousands of people and shaken the global economy.<\/p>\n
Backing down from threats of new violence earlier in the day, Trump said in a statement he had agreed to a request by Pakistan, which has mediated peace talks in the seven-week-old war, until Iran\u2019s \u201cleaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal\u201d.<\/p>\n
Trump also said he decided to extend the ceasefire because \u201cthe government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so,\u201d a reference to US-Israeli assassinations of some of the country\u2019s leaders, including the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has been succeeded by his son.<\/p>\n
He added he would continue the US Navy\u2019s blockade of Iran\u2019s ports and shore, which Tehran has called an act of war.<\/p>\n
His announcement appeared to be unilateral, and it was not immediately clear whether Iran, or Israel, would agree to extend the ceasefire, which first began two weeks ago.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s announcement came after reports that an expected trip by Vice President JD Vance to Pakistan for a second round of peace talks with Iranian officials had been put on hold, and after the Iranian state news outlet Tasnim reported that negotiators from Tehran had informed their U.S. counterparts through an intermediary in Pakistan that they would not appear for further talks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIran ultimately announced today that under these circumstances, attending the negotiations is a waste of time because the US prevents reaching any suitable agreement,\u201d Tasnim reported.<\/p>\n
An advisor to the speaker of Iran\u2019s parliament, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, called Trump\u2019s ceasefire extension \u201ca ploy to buy time\u201d for a surprise strike, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n
Qalibaf\u2019s advisor, in a post on X, also said the continued blockade of Iranian ports by the U.S. Navy was \u201cno different from bombardment and must be met with a military response,\u201d Reuters reported.<\/p>\n
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump, during an interview with CNBC\u2019s \u201cSquawk Box,\u201d said, \u201cI don\u2019t want to do that,\u201d after being asked if he would extend the ceasefire to allow for peace talks to reach a deal.<\/p>\n
Pakistan PM thanks Trump<\/p>\n
Pakistan\u2019s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has thanked Trump for \u201cgraciously accepting our request to extend the ceasefire to allow ongoing diplomatic efforts to take their course\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI sincerely hope that both sides will continue to observe the ceasefire and be able to conclude a comprehensive \u2018Peace Deal\u2019 during the second round of talks scheduled at Islamabad for a permanent end to the conflict,\u201d Sharif wrote on social media.<\/p>\n
It was not clear when, or if, that second round of peace talks would be scheduled.<\/p>\n
— Agencies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (Apr 21) he would indefinitely extend the ceasefire with Iran, hours before it was set to expire, to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-leadstories","category-world","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n