The 14-day ceasefire agreed between the United States and Iran expires today, Wednesday.
However, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he was extending it indefinitely to allow negotiations with Iran to continue. He added, though, that the decision was made at Pakistan’s request.
Mediator Pakistan has been working hard to arrange a second round of talks between the two sides, but the Iranian side has not accepted the proposal, prompting the postponement of U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s planned visit to Islamabad.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked the U.S. president yesterday for agreeing to his request and extending the ceasefire, saying it would make it possible to continue diplomatic efforts to end the war.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said in a televised interview yesterday that no final decision had been made on whether to continue taking part in the talks, citing the United States’ “unacceptable actions.”
The “unacceptable actions” appear to refer to a U.S. naval operation blocking the Strait of Hormuz.
Before announcing the ceasefire extension, Trump had warned Iranian authorities that if no agreement was reached, “a lot of bombs” would begin exploding from Wednesday.
In response, the head of Iran’s negotiating team warned the United States that Tehran now has “new cards that have not yet been revealed on the battlefield.”
In addition, Major General Majid Mousavi, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, threatened to destroy oil facilities in Gulf countries if U.S. airstrikes resumed.
“If our southern neighbors allow the enemy to use their facilities to attack Iran, they should say goodbye to oil production in the Middle East,” he told an Iranian news website.
Source: Associated Press
