Writing on Truth Social, Trump said Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir had asked him to put a hold on his bombing plans while further attributing the decision to \u201cthe fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n
He added that the American naval blockade on Iran\u2019s ports would remain in place while the ceasefire continues \u201cuntil such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other.\u201d<\/p>\n
The president\u2019s latest walk-back of his threats to resume the U.S. air campaign against Tehran comes hours after he told CNBC<\/a> he was not inclined to agree to any extension of the ceasefire.<\/p>\n Trump later deflected attention from his climbdown with a string of Truth Social posts taking aim at an array of domestic and foreign opponents, from the Wall Street Journal to the renewable energy industry and the Iranian regime.<\/p>\n Earlier, after he was asked by anchor Joe Kernen if he\u2019d consider an extension during a telephone interview on the cable news program Squawk Box, Trump replied: \u201cI don’t want to do that. We don’t have that much time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Trump had also told Bloomberg News it was \u201chighly unlikely\u201d that he\u2019d agree to extend the ceasefire after its Wednesday expiration without a full agreement to end the nearly two-month-old war he started on February 28.<\/p>\n Although negotiations between the parties had been set to commence in Islamabad, Pakistan\u2019s capital, the U.S. team that was slated to be led by Vice President JD Vance never left the U.S., and Vance remained at the White House all day on Tuesday in what officials described as a series of policy meetings.<\/p>\n For their part, Tehran\u2019s negotiators had refused to participate in the sessions unless Trump had lifted the blockade of Iran\u2019s ports. <\/p>\n In a post on X, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi called the blockade an \u201cact of war\u201d and therefore a violation of the ceasefire. <\/p>\n “Iran knows how to \u200cneutralize restrictions, \u200chow to defend its \u2060interests, and how to resist bullying,” he said. <\/p>\n Tuesday\u2019s announcement is just the most recent in a series of reversals, which critics have come to give the derisive acronym TACO<\/a> (\u201dTrump Always Chickens Out\u201d) that have characterized Trump\u2019s second bite at the apple of presidential power.<\/p>\n The pattern was established last April after his shambolic \u201cliberation day\u201d tariff rollout \u2014 he makes an outrageous threat on trade or another policy matter that is likely to cause the market to tumble before he inevitably walks back on that policy, leading to a market rebound. <\/p>\n For example, his so-called \u201cLiberation Day\u201d tariffs caused the markets to hit historic lows<\/a> before he ordered a 90-day pause one week later, leading to record highs<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Trump](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2271909125.jpg\")
Trump had told Reuters an extension was \u2018highly unlikely\u2019 before reversing himself on Tuesday (Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Ships](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-04-21T045251Z_1685164099_RC2XSKAK8JRO_RTRMADP_3_OIL-USA-COLUMN-RUSSELL.jpg\")
Ships and boats in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Musandam, Oman, April 20, 2026. (Reuters)<\/p>\n
![\"Police](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2271900643.jpg\")
Police officers stand guard at a closed road leading to the Serena Hotel at the Red Zone area in Islamabad on April 22, 2026 (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n