Iran Ceasefire Extension Announced As Trump Pauses Military Strike After Request From Pakistan

United States President Donald Trump has said the Iran ceasefire will continue, delaying a planned US military strike. Trump has announced that forces will stay on alert but pause the attack, giving Tehran extra time to deliver a formal proposal aimed at ending the war and deciding whether talks can move forward.

Trump has linked the Iran ceasefire extension to requests from Pakistani leaders, saying mediators in Islamabad asked Washington to hold off. The truce had been due to lapse on Wednesday, but Trump's latest message does not set any new end date, indicating that, from the US side, the pause is open-ended for now.

Pakistan mediation shapes Iran ceasefire extension

Explaining the decision, Trump wrote on social media: "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 US naval blockade of Iranian ports therefore remains in place throughout the talks.

Trump also said: "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 suggested internal divisions in Tehran are slowing negotiations.

Regional reactions and pressure over Iran ceasefire

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the Iran ceasefire extension after Trump's post. Sharif said Pakistan would keep pressing for a negotiated outcome. "I sincerely hope that both sides will continue to observe the ceasefire and be able to conclude a comprehensive 'Peace Deal' during the second round of talks scheduled at Islamabad for a permanent end to the conflict," Sharif wrote on X.

Iran has not yet officially replied to the fresh Iran ceasefire announcement by Trump. The semi-official Tasnim news agency has reported that Tehran's formal stance will be "officially announced later". However, earlier Iranian commentary criticised the continuing US naval blockade, warning that the siege on ports might derail participation in talks that had been planned for Wednesday in Islamabad.

US demands, nuclear issues and the Iran ceasefire talks

Washington has linked the Iran ceasefire to wide-ranging conditions. To halt the war, the US is pressing for a full closure of Iran's nuclear programme, strict limits on missile production and constraints on support for regional allies, including Hezbollah and Hamas. Tehran maintains that it has a right to enrich uranium for civilian use and has ruled out trading away its military capabilities or alliances.

Another disagreement within the Iran ceasefire talks concerns Iran's current stockpiles of highly enriched uranium. Trump has claimed that Tehran accepted a plan under which the US would extract nuclear material from sites hit in air raids. Iranian officials have rejected that version, insisting that uranium produced inside the country will not be removed under any deal.

Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi has described the blockade on Iranian ports as an "act of war" that undermines the existing Iran ceasefire. "Iran knows how to neutralize restrictions, how to defend its interests, and how to resist bullying," Araghchi wrote. Tehran's public position continues to reject US threats while denouncing the naval siege as a breach of the truce.

The Iran ceasefire decision marks a swift change from Trump's earlier stance the same day. Hours before extending the truce, Trump had told reporters that he opposed prolonging it and warned that time was nearly up before the US would launch a major attack on Iranian infrastructure. That tougher message raised fears of imminent strikes across key targets.

Fighting between the US, Israel and Iran has intensified since 28 February, when the first strikes were launched against Iranian targets. Several senior Iranian figures, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, have been killed. Despite those losses, Iran's governing system has stayed intact, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, directing much of the war effort and maintaining control.

Following Khamenei's death, Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen as the new supreme leader last month, though Mojtaba Khamenei has not yet appeared in public. Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera's Ali Hashem said Trump's claim of a "seriously fractured" government is likely a "misconception". "Iran has a very unified leadership since the assassination of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei," Hashem said.

Hashem added that the new leader and advisers form an experienced team. "Why? Because the new leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, and the circle around him are a team that's been working together for the past 15 years. Members of this team are currently in the centres of decision in Tehran." Those comments contrast sharply with Trump's view of a divided leadership.

The current Iran ceasefire grew out of an initial two-week truce agreed on 8 April, but that deal soon faced disputes over whether Lebanon should be included and how to manage the Strait of Hormuz. Barbara Slavin, a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center, said Trump's new statement is a "way to cover the embarrassment" of faltering negotiations. Slavin noted that Trump had been ready to send Vice President JD Vance to Pakistan for talks, but Iran did not seem prepared to attend.

"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," Slavin told Al Jazeera. Slavin argued that the US should "relinquish its maximalist demands" and offer Iran "some sort of gesture that it is serious in seeking a resolution". With the blockade still in force and Tehran's response pending, it remains uncertain whether the extended truce will move the sides any closer to a lasting end to the conflict.