Updated ,first published
Washington: Donald Trump extended the ceasefire in Iran indefinitely amid an impasse over his blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, in a move that ostensibly delays the resumption of fighting but leaves a potential resolution of the war in limbo.
Hours after the extension, Iranian state television reported Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard had seized two ships – identified as the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas – after three vessels were attacked in the strait on Wednesday. The two ships were reportedly being taken to Iran for “inspection of their cargo, documents, and records”.
The Guard said in a statement the ships “allegedly operated without authorisation, repeatedly violated regulations, manipulated navigational aid systems and sought to covertly exit the Strait of Hormuz, endangering maritime security”.
Hours before the two-week ceasefire was due to expire, and with Iranian negotiators refusing to travel to Islamabad for talks, the US president said he had acceded to a request from Pakistani mediators to hold off attacking Iran until its leadership came to the table with a “unified proposal”.
“I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other,” Trump wrote on social media.
Vice President JD Vance was due to fly to Pakistan for the high-stakes meeting on Tuesday (US time), but instead spent much of the day at the White House with Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and advisers, as officials grappled with mixed messages from Iran.
Earlier, Trump had claimed Vance was already on the way to Pakistan, and appeared bullish about a peace deal to end the nearly eight-week-old war. He told CNBC television that he did not want to extend the ceasefire and believed “we’re going to end up with a great deal” because Iran had few choices.
But the Iranian regime declared the US blockade was an act of war and demanded it be lifted as a precondition for the talks to proceed.
“Striking a commercial vessel and taking its crew hostage is an even greater violation,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X. “Iran knows how to neutralise restrictions, how to defend its interests, and how to resist bullying.”
Trump continued to air 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 were to lift its blockade, “there can never be a deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their country”.
Meanwhile, the US turned the screws on Iran’s economy, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announcing a further 14 people, entities, and aircraft would be hit with sanctions for procuring or transporting weapons on behalf of the regime in Tehran.
He also indicated the US intended to keep squeezing Iran’s maritime trade to choke off the regime’s primary revenue source.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Trump for continuing the ceasefire and said he hoped both sides would adhere to it. But there was no explicit commitment from Iran to that effect.
The immediate path forward was unclear, although it was possible talks could resume at any moment. At the same time, US Central Command said its forces “remain ready” to resume fighting, and the Financial Times reported Trump was sending yet more troops to the region.
Danny Citrinowicz, an Iran expert at Israel’s Institute of National Security Studies, and a fellow at the Atlantic Institute, said the negotiations would not resume without an agreement to ease economic sanctions.
“Iran believes it is capable of inflicting greater harm on the international community by closing the Strait of Hormuz, and if the United States increases the pressure, Tehran is likely to respond militarily,” he said on X.
“There is no clear solution in this equation, as Iran is confident that it holds the upper hand, while on the other side, there is an American president hesitant to escalate.”
Citrinowicz said the situation was exacerbated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ increased control of Iranian power centres. Trump, too, said Iran was “seriously fractured”.
‘Iran needs resolution’
Some analysts, including Gregory Brew of the Eurasia Group, suggested a potential route through the impasse was for the US to make concessions regarding two ships it has boarded and seized during the blockade.
Brew said little had changed, given the ceasefire remained in effect unless someone broke it. But he said Tehran likely now saw Trump’s brinksmanship as ineffective “as they ran down the clock, and he chose not to escalate”.
“Still, the status quo is unfavorable to either side,” he said on X. “Iran needs resolution to the war; in time, it will feel the pinch from the blockade. The US, for all Trump’s bluster, needs the strait reopened.”
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported the death toll of the war had exceeded 5500 people, including at least 3375 in Iran and more than 2290 in Lebanon. In Israel, 23 people have been killed, and 15 IDF soldiers have been killed in Lebanon.
The conflict has also killed more than a dozen people in Persian Gulf states that have been drawn into the war. Thirteen US service members have been killed across the region.
with Emily Kaine, AP
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.
Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political reporter in Canberra.Connect via X or email.