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U.S. President Donald Trump has announced an extension of the deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face potential strikes on its energy facilities, after Tehran rejected a 15-point U.S. proposal aimed at ending the war.
The four-week conflict has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands of people and rattling the global economy, with soaring energy prices fuelling fears of rising inflation.
The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28 while talks over Tehran’s nuclear programme were still ongoing and had yet to produce an agreement.
Speaking during a cabinet meeting at the White House on Thursday, March 26, Trump warned that pressure on Iran would intensify if no deal is reached. He later wrote on social media that he would pause threatened attacks on Iranian energy plants for 10 days, extending the deadline to April 6 at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (0000 GMT on April 7).
“Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media and others, they are going very well,” he said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran has denied engaging in talks with Washington, and Trump has not specified which representatives the U.S. is negotiating with, particularly as several senior Iranian officials have been killed during the conflict.
On March 23, Trump initially announced a five-day halt to threatened strikes on power plants and energy infrastructure, but this has now been extended to 10 days.
In an interview with Fox News’ The Five, Trump said Iranian officials had requested a seven-day pause in attacks on energy facilities.
There has been no immediate response from Tehran. However, The Wall Street Journal, citing mediators involved in the peace efforts, reported that Iran did not request a 10-day pause.
Iran has warned it would retaliate with strikes on energy facilities in the Gulf region if the U.S. follows through on its threats.
Tehran has also effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz—a critical route for about 20 percent of global oil and liquefied natural gas—triggering a spike in energy prices and volatility in financial markets.
Meanwhile, Iranian media reported airstrikes on residential areas in Tehran, Qom, and Urumia in the early hours of Friday.
In Qom, at least six people were killed after three residential homes in the Pardisan area were hit. In Tehran, Red Crescent rescue workers pulled a survivor from the rubble of a residential building struck during the attacks.
