US President Donald Trump called off attacks on Iran indefinitely, though the Strait of Hormuz remained blocked on Wednesday with three ships reportedly hit by gunfire, and neither side showed up for peace talks in Pakistan.
Trump said in a statement on social media the US had agreed to a request by Pakistani mediators “to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal … and discussions are concluded, one way or the other.”
But even as he announced what appeared to be a unilateral ceasefire extension, Trump also said he would continue the US Navy’s blockade of Iran’s trade by sea.
Iran considers the US blockade an act of war and has said it will not lift its closure of the strait, which has caused a global energy crisis, as long as the US blockade continues.
Pakistan, acting as mediator, had cleared out a luxury hotel in the capital Islamabad for last-ditch peace talks on Tuesday, in the hopes of reaching a deal in the final hours before a two-week-old ceasefire expired.
But Iran never confirmed it would attend and a US delegation led by Vice-President JD Vance never departed Washington, leaving an apparent stalemate in the nearly two-month war with no clear solution to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
There was no response early on Wednesday to Trump’s ceasefire announcement from senior Iranian officials, although some initial reactions from Tehran suggested Trump’s comments were being treated skeptically.
Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, said Iran had not asked for a ceasefire extension and repeated threats to break the US blockade by force.
An adviser to Iran’s lead negotiator, the speaker of parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said Trump’s announcement might be a ploy.
Just hours before Trump called off attacks, he had repeated threats to resume them, declaring that his military was “raring to go”.
