Trump Extends Iran Ceasefire Amid Uncertainty Surrounding Peace Negotiations

US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that the two-week ceasefire with Iran would be extended, citing deep divisions within Tehran’s government as the reason for the continued pause in hostilities.

Trump stated that the ceasefire, which he had previously indicated would expire on Wednesday, would remain in place until Iran’s leadership and negotiating team present a “unified proposal” to bring the conflict with the US and Israel to an end.

The announcement followed reports that a planned visit by Vice President JD Vance to Pakistan — where a second round of peace talks with Iranian officials was expected to take place — had been suspended.

Iran’s state-run news outlet Tasnim also reported that Tehran’s negotiators had communicated through an intermediary in Pakistan that they would not be returning to the negotiating table.

“Iran ultimately announced today that under these circumstances, attending the negotiations is a waste of time because the US prevents reaching any suitable agreement,” Tasnim reported.

An advisor to the Speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, dismissed the ceasefire extension as a delay tactic, suggesting it was designed to buy time ahead of a surprise military strike, according to Reuters.

The same advisor posted on X that the ongoing US Navy blockade of Iranian ports amounted to an act of aggression that “must be met with a military response,” Reuters added.

Earlier in the day, Trump had signalled reluctance to extend the ceasefire.

During an appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box, he responded to a question about prolonging the truce to allow negotiations to reach a conclusion by saying, “I don’t want to do that.”

Related: Trump Warns Of Renewed Airstrikes If Iran Nuclear Talks Collapse

Despite this, Trump later released a formal statement explaining the change of position.

“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,” Trump said in a statement.

“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,” the president said.

Iran’s government has maintained that the US violated commitments outlined in a ten-point framework proposed by Tehran at the outset of the fragile ceasefire.

At the centre of the dispute is the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil transit routes which Iran effectively shut down when hostilities began.

Trump had made the full reopening of the strait a condition of agreeing to the ceasefire.

However, shipping activity through the passage remained sparse, and following the breakdown of early peace talks, Trump ordered the US Navy to impose a blockade on Iranian ports in the vicinity of the strait.