Trump says US will extend ceasefire with Iran
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Tuesday 21 Apr 2026
(Sharecast News) - US president Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the US will extend the ceasefire with Iran while continuing the blockade of Iranian ports.
The two-week ceasefire is due to expire on Wednesday. However, in a post on Truth Social, Trump said: "Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up 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."
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump told CNBC that he expected the US to end up making a "great deal" with Iran.
The comments were made in an interview with Squawk Box. Asked what he expected to materialise from a second round of talks with Tehran, the US president said: "I think they have no choice.
"We've taken out their Navy, we've taken out their Air Force.
"We've taken out their leaders, frankly, which does complicate things in one way, but these leaders are much more rational.
"It is regime change, no matter what you want to call it, which is not something I said I was going to do, but I've done it indirectly maybe but I've done it."
Asked whether he would extend the ceasefire if talks between the two sides progressed well, Trump said: "Well, I don't want to do that."
Trump had already told Bloomberg he would "not be rushed into making a bad deal".
"We've got all the time in the world," he said, adding that an extension of the current truce was "highly unlikely".
Trump's latest comments on Truth Social came amid confusion about whether US vice president JD Vance was heading to Islamabad for a second round of talks with Iran.
According to the New York Times, citing a US official with direct knowledge of the situation, the trip has been put on hold after Tehran failed to respond to American positions. It was understood the visit could resume if Iran meets US terms, but the White House is waiting for a signal that Iran's negotiators are willing to sign a deal.
Meanwhile, Iran's Tasnim News Agency, which is linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported that Tehran's negotiating team has told the Americans through a Pakistani intermediary that it will not attend talks in Islamabad on Wednesday.
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