Trump extends Iran ceasefire, keeps blockade as talks falter

Courtney Subramanian and Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Bloomberg News on Apr 21, 2026

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced he was extending a ceasefire with Iran indefinitely a day before it was set to expire, even as plans for a fresh round of talks between the two countries fell apart.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said Tuesday he would maintain a blockade over ships coming to and from Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. He added that Pakistan, which had mediated between the two sides, asked for the U.S. to hold off on fresh strikes and he was extending the ceasefire until Iran submits a new proposal “and discussions are concluded, one way or the other.”

In another post on Tuesday night, the president said that without the blockade, “there can never be a Deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their Country, their leaders included!”

Vice President JD Vance had been set to travel to Pakistan to resume talks with Iran, but representatives from Tehran refused to attend, citing what they said were unreasonable American demands. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said there is currently no prospect of Iran participating in negotiations.

A White House official confirmed in a statement that the vice president’s trip would not take place on Tuesday.

Trump’s announcement struck a markedly different tone from earlier in the day when he told CNBC that “I expect to be bombing” if Iran didn’t meet his conditions, adding the military was “raring to go.” In a telephone interview on Monday, Trump said it was “highly unlikely that I’d extend” the cessation of hostilities if no deal is reached.

Oil held a two-day gain after the ceasefire was extended, with Brent trading at around $98 a barrel after adding almost 9% in the previous two sessions.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a statement thanked Trump for extending the ceasefire “to allow ongoing diplomatic efforts to take their course.”

“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,” he said in a post on X.

Top Iranian officials didn’t immediately comment on Trump’s pronouncement in overnight hours, Tehran time. Iran didn’t request an extension of the ceasefire, semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, citing unnamed sources. It also said the country won’t reopen the strait as long as the American naval blockade continues.

The developments marked the latest turn in the fraught back and forth between Washington and Tehran since the two sides announced a two-week truce on April 7. Since then, they have publicly bickered over the terms of an agreement and alternatively opened and closed Hormuz, the waterway that carries a fifth of oil shipments.

A previous round of talks after the original ceasefire was announced ended in failure, with U.S. officials saying Iran wasn’t willing to accept limits on its nuclear program and Iranian officials arguing that the US had made a series of demands it would not meet.

Iran Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led Tehran’s delegation during the first round of talks, had said Monday that his country would not “accept negotiations under the shadow of threats.”

Trump blamed the collapse of negotiations on what he called a “seriously fractured” leadership structure in Iran.

While the ceasefire extension might soothe investors for now, the path toward a lasting agreement to end the war is uncertain. The conflict, which has stretched into its eighth week, has killed thousands and triggered a global energy crisis — raising pressure on both sides to find an offramp.

Trump has demanded an end to Iran’s ambitions for a nuclear weapon and the return of its nuclear material. Tehran has balked at handing over its enriched uranium and accused the U.S. of violating the ceasefire by keeping a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz.

Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow specializing in Iran at the Middle East Institute, said Trump had “kind of cornered himself,” because he doesn’t actually want a return to combat.

“He has made a strategic error of thinking that shouting louder and louder at the Iranians is going to pay off,” Vatanka said. “This is not going to work with this regime. Pressure works much better quietly than publicly.”

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(With assistance from Hadriana Lowenkron, Devika Krishna Kumar, Jeff Mason, Eltaf Najafizada, Eric Martin, Michelle Jamrisko and John Harney.)

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