Wednesday, April 22, 2026 -US President Donald Trump on Tuesday extended the two-week
U.S. ceasefire with Iran due to Tehran’s government being “seriously
fractured.”
Trump said the ceasefire, which he earlier had said would
end on Wednesday, would continue “until such time as” Iran’s leaders and
representatives submit a “unified proposal” to end the war with the U.S. and
Israel.
Trump’s 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.
“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, called Trump’s ceasefire extension “a ploy to buy time” for a
surprise strike, Reuters reported.
Qalibaf’s advisor, in a post on X, also said the continued
blockade of Iranian ports by the U.S. Navy was “no different from bombardment
and must be met with a military response,” Reuters reported.
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump, during an interview with CNBC’s
“Squawk Box,” said, “I don’t want to do that,” after being asked if he would
extend the ceasefire to allow for peace talks to reach a deal.
“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.
Iranian officials have accused the U.S. of breaching its
commitments under a 10-point framework that Iran offered at the start of a
fragile ceasefire.
A key point of conflict remains the Strait of Hormuz, a
major route for global oil transit, which Iran effectively closed at the start
of the war.
Trump said he had agreed to the ceasefire on condition that
the strait be fully reopened.
However, traffic through the passage remained relatively
light, and following the collapse of initial peace negotiations, Trump ordered
a U.S. Navy blockade of Iranian ports near the strait.
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