President Donald Trump extended the US-Iran ceasefire Tuesday hours before it was set to expire, reversing course after telling CNBC the same morning that he did not want to prolong the truce. The reversal came as a second round of peace talks in Islamabad teetered, Iran refused to confirm it would send a delegation, and the White House cancelled a planned trip by Vice President JD Vance to Pakistan.
Trump announced the extension on Truth Social, citing a request from Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to hold off on renewed strikes “until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal.”
He added that the decision was “based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured” — a signal that Washington believes internal divisions in Tehran are preventing any deal from moving forward. The ceasefire, brokered by Pakistan, had been in effect since April 8 following nearly six weeks of fighting in the US-Israel war on Iran.
The extension came without a new deadline, which US advisers had privately warned Trump could remove pressure on Iran to negotiate. CNN reported that US officials believe Iran’s negotiating team — led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi — lacks the authority to close a deal without sign-off from IRGC commanders, whose position remains unclear.
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Iran’s response was cold. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said “no final decision” had been made on whether Tehran would attend a second round of talks, citing “contradictory messages” from Washington.
Araghchi called the ongoing US naval blockade of Iranian ports an “act of war” and a ceasefire violation. An Iranian senior adviser said the extension “means nothing” and Tehran should respond militarily. Iran’s UN envoy said talks could happen — but only if the US ends the blockade first.
The White House said Vance would not travel to Islamabad on Tuesday, with any further updates on in-person meetings to be announced separately. Pakistan’s foreign minister met with the acting US ambassador and the Chinese ambassador in Islamabad on Tuesday, urging a ceasefire extension and pressing for a second round. Pakistani PM Sharif said he hoped “both sides will continue to observe the ceasefire and be able to conclude a comprehensive peace deal.”
Washington wants Iran’s nuclear programme shut down entirely, its enriched uranium stockpiles removed, its ballistic missile capabilities constrained, and its financial and military backing of Hezbollah and Hamas cut off.
Tehran insists on its right to domestic uranium enrichment, refuses to allow nuclear material to leave the country, and will not put its military capabilities or regional alliances on the table. Trump has threatened renewed strikes if talks do not progress — telling reporters the military is “raring to go” — while Iran’s chief negotiator warned that Tehran has “new cards on the battlefield” not yet revealed.
The first round of direct Islamabad talks on April 11 and 12 ended without an agreement after 21 hours of negotiations, with Vance saying Iran “moved in our direction, but not far enough.”
Analyst Barbara Slavin of the Stimson Center told Al Jazeera that Trump’s ceasefire extension amounted to “a way to cover the embarrassment” of stalled negotiations, noting that Iran had gained leverage Washington did not anticipate: “This war hasn’t gone the way he expected from the very beginning, and Iran has discovered new leverage in its control of the Strait of Hormuz.”
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