U.S. President Donald Trump indefinitely extended the ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday, hours before it was set to expire, to allow the two countries to continue peace talks.
A woman walks next to an anti-Israeli mural on a street, amid a ceasefire between U.S. and Iran, in Tehran, Iran, April 20, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump indefinitely extended the ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday, hours before it was set to expire, to allow the two countries to continue peace talks.
In a statement on social media, Trump said he had agreed to a request by Pakistan, which has mediated peace talks, "to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal."
It was the latest instance of Trump backing down from his repeated threats to bomb power plants and other civilian infrastructure in Iran, which experts have warned could constitute war crimes.
Trump, who with Israel launched the war on Iran on February 28, said he decided to extend the ceasefire because "the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so," a reference to U.S.-Israeli assassinations of some of the country's leaders, including the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has been succeeded by his son.
Trump said he would continue the U.S. Navy's blockade of Iran's ports and shore, which Iran's leaders have said is an act of war, and became a sticking point as the two countries wavered this week on whether to send negotiators to a second round of peace talks in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital.
Trump's ceasefire extension is a "ploy to buy time" for a surprise strike, an advisor to Iran's parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said on Tuesday.
Qalibaf's advisor said in a post on X that the continuation of the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports was "no different from bombardment and must be met with a military response."
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STATEMENT OF PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP:
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.
I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other.
President DONALD J. TRUMP
Editing by Chris Reese
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