Trump says the US will extend its ceasefire with Iran at Pakistan's
request
[April 22, 2026]
By MUNIR AHMED, JON GAMBRELL and MATTHEW LEE
ISLAMABAD (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday the United States
was indefinitely extending its ceasefire with Iran — a day before it was
to expire — as a new round of peace talks was on hold. The announcement
appeared to ease fears that the fighting, which had shaken energy
markets and the global economy, would promptly resume.
Pakistan had planned to host a second round of talks, but the White
House put on hold Vice President JD Vance’s planned trip to Islamabad as
Iran rebuffed efforts to restart negotiations.
Iran has not yet responded to Trump's announcement of the ceasefire
extension. Both countries have warned that, without a deal, they were
prepared to resume fighting.
Pakistan scrambles to get US and Iran to negotiate
Pakistani leaders, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, worked
intensively to get both sides to agree to a second round of ceasefire
talks, according to two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity
because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Sharif later thanked Trump for his “gracious acceptance” of Pakistan’s
request, saying the ceasefire extension would allow ongoing diplomatic
efforts to proceed.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told Iran’s state TV
there has been “no final decision” on whether to agree to more talks
because of “unacceptable actions" by the U.S., apparently referring to
the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.
In a Truth Social post announcing the ceasefire extension, Trump said
the U.S. would continue the blockade.
As Vance put on hold a return trip to Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital,
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were
expected in Washington on Tuesday afternoon for consultations about how
to proceed, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to
discuss internal administration deliberations.
The official cautioned that Trump could change his mind on negotiating
with Iran at any time, and declined to predict what would happen. The
official said Trump has options short of restarting airstrikes.
Both sides remain dug in rhetorically
Before announcing the ceasefire extension, Trump had warned that “lots
of bombs” will “start going off” if there’s no agreement before the
Wednesday deadline, while Iran’s chief negotiator said that Tehran has
“new cards on the battlefield” that haven't yet been revealed.
A senior commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
threatened to destroy the region's oil industry if war with the U.S.
resumes. “If southern neighbors allow the enemy to use their facilities
to attack Iran, they should say goodbye to oil production in the Middle
East region,” Gen. Majid Mousavi told an Iranian news site.
Strait of Hormuz control key to negotiations
Iran’s envoy to the United Nations said Tuesday that Tehran has
“received some sign” that the U.S. is ready to stop its blockade of
Iranian ports.
Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said ending the blockade remains a
condition for Iran to rejoin peace talks. When that happens, he said, “I
think the next round of the negotiations will take place.”
The U.S. imposed the blockade to pressure Tehran into ending its
stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane through which
20% of the world’s natural gas and crude oil transits in peacetime.
Iran’s grip on the strait has sent oil prices soaring. Brent crude, the
international standard, was trading at close to $95 per barrel on
Tuesday, up more than 30% from Feb. 28, the day that Israel and the U.S.
attacked Iran to start the war.
Before the war began, the Strait of Hormuz had been fully open to
international shipping. Trump has demanded that vessels again be allowed
to transit unimpeded.
Over the weekend, Iran said that it had received new proposals from
Washington, but also suggested that a wide gap remains between the
sides. Issues that derailed the previous round of negotiations included
Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, its regional proxies and the strait.
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Paramilitary soldiers patrol to ensure security ahead of the second
round of talk between the U.S. and Iran, in Islamabad, Pakistan,
Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
The US says its forces board sanctioned oil tanker
On Tuesday, the U.S. said its forces boarded an oil tanker
previously sanctioned for smuggling Iranian crude oil in Asia. The
Pentagon said in a social media post that U.S. forces boarded the
M/T Tifani “without incident.”
The U.S. military did not say where the vessel had been boarded,
though ship-tracking data showed the Tifani in the Indian Ocean
between Sri Lanka and Indonesia on Tuesday. The Pentagon statement
added that “international waters are not a refuge for sanctioned
vessels.”
The U.S. military on Sunday seized an Iranian container ship, the
first interception under the blockade. Iran’s joint military command
called the armed boarding an act of piracy and a violation of the
ceasefire.
Pakistan hopeful talks will proceed
Pakistani officials have expressed confidence that Iran will also
send a delegation to resume the talks — the highest-level
negotiations between the U.S. and Iran since the 1979 Islamic
Revolution. The first round April 11 and 12 ended without an
agreement.
Pakistan said Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met Tuesday separately with
the U.S. and China's top diplomats in Islamabad. China is a key
trading partner of Iran.
Security has been tightened across Islamabad, where authorities have
deployed thousands of personnel and increased patrols along routes
leading to the airport.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said the ceasefire extension
was “an important step toward de-escalation” that will create
“critical space for diplomacy and confidence-building between Iran
and the United States,” according to his spokesman, Stephane
Dujarric.
Talks between Israel and Lebanon are to resume
In Lebanon, the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah said in a
statement it had fired rockets and drones at Israeli forces for the
first time since 10-day truce took effect last Friday “in response
to the blatant and documented violations” by Israel.
Those violations, it said, included “attacks on civilians and the
destruction of their homes and villages in southern Lebanon.”
The Israeli army said it responded by striking the group's rocket
launcher. Israeli officials have said they intend to maintain a
buffer zone in southern Lebanon — an area that includes dozens of
villages whose residents have not been allowed to return.
Historic diplomatic talks between Israel and Lebanon are to resume
on Thursday in Washington, an Israeli, a Lebanese and a U.S.
official said. All three spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss
the behind-the-scenes negotiations.
The Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors met last week for the first
direct diplomatic talks in decades. Israel says the talks are aimed
at disarming Hezbollah and reaching a peace agreement with Lebanon.
Fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah broke out two
days after the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran to
start the war. In Lebanon, the fighting has killed more than 2,290
people.
Since the war started, at least 3,375 people have been killed in
Iran, according to authorities. Additionally, 23 people have died in
Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli
soldiers in Lebanon and 13 U.S. service members throughout the
region have been killed.
___
Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Lee from
Washington. Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price, Aamer
Madhani and Darlene Superville in Washington; Samy Magdy in Cairo;
David Rising and Huizhong Wu in Bangkok; Julia Frankel in New York;
Bill Barrow in Atlanta, Edith M. Lederer and Farnoush Amiri at the
United Nations; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, and Hannah
Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed to this report.
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