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President Donald Trump extended a moratorium on U.S. strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure until April 6, posting on Truth Social late Thursday that he was granting an Iranian request for additional time, even as a senior Iranian official privately described the American peace proposal as one-sided and unfair, and Tehran continued to deny that any negotiations were underway.
“As per Iranian Government request, please let this statement serve to represent that I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time,” Trump wrote on his social media platform. “Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well,” he added. The post came roughly 10 minutes after U.S. stock markets closed following their worst single session since the war began on February 28.
The announcement was the second time Trump had stepped back from his own deadline. On Sunday, Trump threatened to strike Iran’s power grid if the Strait of Hormuz was not reopened within 48 hours. On Monday, citing what he described as good and productive conversations, he extended that window by five days. Thursday’s extension pushed the deadline back a second time, to April 6, citing an Iranian request for more time.
Iran’s public account of the sequence differed sharply. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran had received the U.S. peace framework, a 15-point proposal delivered through Pakistani intermediaries, and described it as “one-sided and unfair.” Iranian state media said the regime retained “complete doubt” about Washington’s willingness to genuinely negotiate. Tehran has not confirmed making any request for a pause extension, and Iranian officials have repeatedly said no direct or indirect talks with the United States are taking place. An unnamed senior Iranian leader did acknowledge receiving the American proposal but offered no indication Tehran intended to accept its terms.
Trump’s own account of the extension contained details Tehran neither confirmed nor rebutted. Speaking on Fox News earlier Thursday, he said Iranian officials had asked for a seven-day extension.
“They asked for seven, and I said ‘I’m going to give you 10,’ because they gave me ships,” Trump told the broadcaster, referencing his earlier claim that Iran had permitted 10 oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz as a goodwill gesture. Trump said Iranian officials were “very thankful” for the additional time.
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At a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day, special envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed that the United States had presented Iran with a structured framework for ending the war. He said Pakistan, Egypt, and Turkey had in recent days approached Washington offering to mediate, and that the U.S. had used those channels to deliver what he called “a 15-point action list that forms the framework for a peace deal.” Witkoff declined to elaborate on the specific terms, saying Trump had directed him to keep the contents confidential and not negotiate through the media.
The economic consequences of the stalled Strait of Hormuz continued to register Thursday. Brent crude oil futures rose more than 5.6 percent, settling at $108.01 per barrel, even after briefly dipping on the announcement of the pause extension. The S&P 500 fell 1.74 percent, its steepest single-day drop of the war. Since the conflict began, crude prices have risen roughly 40 percent, liquefied natural gas prices have spiked, and the cost of nitrogen-based fertilizers critical to global food production has climbed approximately 50 percent, fueling mounting inflation concerns among economists.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, departing Thursday for a G7 foreign ministers meeting in France, said progress had been made in negotiations and criticized other NATO and European governments for declining to treat the Strait of Hormuz crisis as a shared concern. “Ukraine is not America’s war, but we are contributing more than anyone else,” Rubio said, drawing a parallel to U.S. expectations of allied burden-sharing in the Middle East.
Britain’s defense chief said Thursday, citing U.K. intelligence, that Russia had provided Iran with both intelligence and pre-war training, describing what he called “the hidden hand of Putin” behind Iran’s military campaign. Multiple senior sources have corroborated some aspects of that assessment, though Moscow has not commented publicly.
International human rights experts and United Nations officials said Trump’s repeated threats to strike Iranian power plants, even if currently paused, amount to an open threat to commit a war crime. Amnesty International issued a statement calling the threats a violation of international humanitarian law. The White House has not responded to those characterizations.
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Trump, asked at the Cabinet meeting whether he was eager to reach a settlement, dismissed the suggestion. “I’m the opposite of desperate,” he said. “I don’t care. In fact, we have other targets we want to hit before we leave. We’re hitting them on a daily basis.” The next hard deadline for U.S. strikes on Iranian energy facilities is now April 6 at 8 p.m. Eastern Time, barring a further extension or a change in battlefield conditions.
