Donald Trump has extended the ceasefire with Iran, stating that the Tehran regime is 'seriously fractured'. The US president said he acted on a request from Pakistan, which has been mediating in the conflict, but emphasised that the blockade of Iran's ports would remain in force.
The extension, announced on Trump's Truth Social platform, comes as the deadline for the current fragile truce approached. Proposed talks in Islamabad were put on hold amid ongoing tensions over the stand-off in the Strait of Hormuz, where the effective closure of the vital supply route has caused a global economic shock and soaring energy prices.
On Wednesday, the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre reported that an Iranian Revolutionary Guard gun boat had fired on a container ship about 15 miles north-east of the coast of Oman. The attack caused heavy damage to the ship's bridge, but all crew were safe and there was no fire or environmental impact.
Military planners from countries seeking to join a UK- and France-led defensive mission to keep the waterway open will meet in London on Wednesday. Meanwhile, fresh analysis from the Resolution Foundation think tank suggested an escalation could lead to a sharp rise in UK Government borrowing and slash the financial safety buffer built up by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Pakistan's leaders, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, had made frantic efforts to secure further talks, but hopes faded as US Vice President JD Vance called off a trip to Pakistan after Iran refused to commit to attending. Trump wrote that the ceasefire would continue 'until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal'.
Iran's parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, rejected negotiations 'under the shadow of threats', accusing the US president of seeking a 'table of surrender'. In the UK, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer held talks with ministers on contingency planning, including work with fuel suppliers to ease pressures on the public caused by the conflict.
