President changed his tune at request of Pakistan’s leaders, though he said military blockade of Iranian ports will continue
Donald Trump unilaterally announced an extension of the two-week ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday amid frantic efforts to bring the two sides back to the negotiating table.
Hours after announcing that he “expected to be bombing”, the US president said he would extend the ceasefire until Iranian negotiators submitted a proposal for peace.
“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,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The president had earlier told the US business news network CNBC that he did not want to extend the ceasefire with Tehran, insisting the US was in a strong position and was “going to end up with a great deal”. Trump has previously said that targets for new US attacks would include power stations and other civilian infrastructure.
