Trump extends ceasefire indefinitely amid impasse over peace talks
Updated ,first published
Washington: Donald Trump indefinitely extended the ceasefire in Iran at a time when the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz was deadlocked; It’s a move that ostensibly delays the resumption of hostilities but leaves the potential resolution of the war unclear.
Hours after the extension, Iranian state television reported that Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard had seized two ships identified as MSC Francesca and Epaminondas after three ships were attacked in the strait on Wednesday. It was reported that the two ships were taken to Iran for “examination of their cargo, documents and records”.
The ships “allegedly operated without authorization, repeatedly violated regulations, manipulated navigation aid systems, and attempted to sneak out of the Strait of Hormuz, endangering maritime security,” the Guard said in a statement.
Hours before a two-week ceasefire was set to expire and with Iranian negotiators refusing to travel to Islamabad for talks, the US president said he had accepted a request from Pakistani negotiators to delay attacking Iran until their leaders come to the table with a “unified proposal”.
“Therefore I have directed our Military to maintain the Blockade and remain ready and capable in all other respects, and therefore I will extend the Armistice until proposals are presented and discussions are concluded one way or another,” Trump wrote on social media.
Vice President J.D. Vance was due to fly to Pakistan for the important meeting on Tuesday (US time), but instead spent most of the day at the White House with Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and advisers as officials grappled with mixed messages from Iran.
Trump had previously claimed that Vance was already on his way to Pakistan and appeared optimistic about a peace deal that would end the war that has been raging for almost eight weeks. He told CNBC television that he did not want to extend the ceasefire and believed “we’ll end up with a big deal” because Iran has few options.
However, the Iranian regime declared the US blockade an act of war and demanded its removal as a precondition for talks to continue.
“Attacking a commercial ship and taking its crew hostage is an even greater violation,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a statement to X. “Iran knows how to neutralize restrictions, defend its interests and resist tyranny.”
Trump continued to convey his thoughts and strategy on social media, saying that Iran actually wanted to open the Strait of Hormuz but had to “save face.” He suggested that if the US lifted the blockade, “there would never be a deal with Iran unless they blow up the rest of the country.”
Meanwhile, the United States has turned the screws on Iran’s economy, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announcing sanctions against 14 more individuals, organizations and aircraft for supplying or transporting weapons on behalf of the regime in Tehran.
He also stated that the United States intends to continue restricting Iran’s maritime trade to cut off the regime’s primary source of revenue.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Trump for maintaining the ceasefire and said he hoped both sides would abide by it. However, Iran had no clear commitment in this direction.
Although talks could resume at any time, the path forward was unclear. At the same time, US Central Command said its forces “remain ready” to continue the fight and Finance Times He reported that Trump will send more soldiers to the region.
Negotiations will not continue without an agreement to ease economic sanctions, said Danny Citrinowicz, an Iran expert at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies and a researcher at the Atlantic Institute.
“Iran believes it can cause greater harm to the international community by closing the Strait of Hormuz, and if the US increases pressure Tehran is likely to respond militarily,” he told X.
“There is no clear solution to this equation, where Iran is confident that it has the upper hand, and on the other side is an American president who is wary of escalating tensions.”
Citrinowicz said the situation has worsened with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ increasing control over Iranian centers of power. Trump also said Iran was “seriously disintegrated.”
‘Iran needs a solution’
Some analysts, including Eurasia Group’s Gregory Brew, have suggested that a possible way to break the impasse is for the United States to make concessions on the two ships it boarded and captured during the blockade.
Brew said little has changed because the ceasefire remains in effect unless someone breaks it. But he said Tehran likely viewed Trump’s assertiveness as ineffective “because the clock had run out and Trump chose not to escalate tensions.”
“Still, the status quo is negative for both parties,” he told X. “Iran needs to find a solution to the war; in time it will feel the pain of the blockade. Despite all Trump’s bluster, the United States needs the strait to be reopened.”
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that the death toll in the war exceeded 5,500 people; of these, at least 3,375 were in Iran and more than 2,290 in Lebanon. 23 people were killed in Israel and 15 Israeli soldiers were killed in Lebanon.
The conflict also killed more than a dozen people in Persian Gulf countries drawn into the war. 13 US soldiers were killed in the region.
With Emily Kaine, AP
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Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political correspondent in Canberra.Connect with: X or email.
