U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office after signing an Executive Order on April 18, 2026, in Washington, D.C. The executive order directs the Food and Drug Administration to issue new guidance on the use of psychedelic drugs intended for clinical trials for U.S. veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.President Donald Trump extended a 14-day ceasefire in his war against Iran two hours before the original two-week clock expired, but a day before a new Wednesday deadline he had announced on Monday.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“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.”
The announcement comes amid a standoff in the negotiations for a permanent peace deal. Trump claimed on Monday morning that his vice president, JD Vance, was on his way to Pakistan for a second round of talks when Vance, in reality, had not even left Washington.
Vance still had not left by late on Tuesday, as Iranian leaders said they would not resume negotiations as long as the United States continued its blockade of Iranian ports.
It is unclear, precisely, what Trump’s new stipulation means in terms of a ceasefire deadline.
He declared a two-week ceasefire in a social media post on April 7 at 6:32 p.m., Eastern time, a period that would have ended at 6:32 p.m. on Tuesday.
Yet Trump on Monday said the ceasefire would expire “Wednesday evening Washington time” in an interview with Bloomberg News and that he likely would not extend it.
He did not offer any explanation or elaborate on why he had added an extra day and White House aides did not respond to HuffPost queries about the discrepancy. On Tuesday, Trump gave a 40-minute interview with CNBC and did not talk about the ceasefire deadline, although he did say he was ready to start bombing Iran again.
“I expect to be bombing because I think that’s a better attitude to go in with. But we’re ready to go. I mean, the military is raring to go,” he said.
Trump has, during the nearly eight-week war, often claimed it was already over and that he had “won,” but has also threatened to commit war crimes if Iran didn’t capitulate. At one point, he threatened to end their “civilisation” entirely.
He has also repeatedly claimed that the Strait of Hormuz, which, prior to the war, had one-fifth of the world’s crude oil passing through it, was open while Iran was still threatening ships that attempted to pass through without paying a hefty fee.
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