US President Donald Trump has announced that he will extend the ceasefire with Iran until negotiations between the two countries make tangible progress.
The decision removes the immediate pressure of an expiring deadline, with the previous truce having been due to end this week.
However, Trump made it clear that the US naval blockade of Iranian ports will remain in force until Tehran presents what he described as a “unified proposal.”
Trump said Tuesday that Iran ultimately wants the Strait of Hormuz reopened, but argued that lifting the US blockade of Iranian ports would undermine the prospects of a peace deal unless, he added, “we blow up” the rest of the country.
“Iran doesn’t want the Strait of Hormuz closed, they want it open so they can make $500 million a day,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “They only say they want it closed because I have it totally blockaded, so they merely want to ‘save face.’”
He continued: “People approached me four days ago, saying, ‘Sir, Iran wants to open up the Strait, immediately.’”
“But if we do that,” Trump said, “there can never be a deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their country, their leaders included.”
The status of the talks remains uncertain. Diplomatic engagement between Washington and Tehran appears to be stalled, with both sides yet to confirm the next round of discussions.
Plans for renewed negotiations in Islamabad have also faltered. US Vice President JD Vance, who had been expected to travel to Pakistan, remained in Washington and will no longer make the trip, according to the White House.
On the Iranian side, officials have also signalled hesitation. A foreign ministry spokesperson said Tehran has not yet decided whether it will send a delegation to Pakistan for talks with the United States.
The developments leave the ceasefire in place but without a clear diplomatic pathway, highlighting the fragile and unresolved nature of the standoff between the two countries.
