Trump extends Iran ceasefire, warns of force if blockade fails to yield deal: As it happened
US President Donald Trump has extended the ceasefire with Iran. The move happened just hours before the fragile two-week truce had been set to expire on Wednesday.
However, he has vowed to maintain the naval blockade, touting it as leverage to force Tehran to make a deal.
“I have 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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday.
Earlier on Tuesday, Vice President J.D. Vance had been expected to lead the US delegation in Islamabad, alongside Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. However, the trip was put on hold after Iranian officials said the talks were pointless as long as Washington maintained its “bullying.”
The US president later claimed that Washington would not lift the blockade, because “if we do that, there can never be a Deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their Country, their leaders included!” Iran promises to “reveal new cards on the battlefield.” Iranian officials have yet to formally respond to the US ceasefire extension.
Here are the latest developments:
- Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused Trump of trying to turn talks “into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering.”
- Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the country “will not bow to coercion,” while Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi described the blockade of its ports as “an act of war and thus a violation of the ceasefire.”
- Separate talks between West Jerusalem and Beirut are set for Thursday to discuss extending their ceasefire, due to expire on Sunday, as the Jewish State continues strikes on southern Lebanon and Hezbollah reports retaliatory attacks on northern Israel.
- The Middle East conflict has triggered what IEA chief Fatih Birol has called “the biggest” energy crisis in history.
This live coverage has ended.
22 April 2026
04:45 GMTFrench President Emmanuel Macron and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam have urged fresh negotiations to shore up Lebanon’s fragile ceasefire, after talks in Paris centred on preventing a new regional escalation linked to the Iran war.
“We should allow time for negotiations and not let the war resume,” Macron said, adding that reinforcing the truce in Lebanon was an immediate priority. He also said broader regional stability “can only be achieved through an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory and the disarmament of Hezbollah”.
Salam, for his part, said Lebanon remained committed to direct negotiations with Israel, describing diplomacy as “not a sign of weakness but a responsible act”. But he also insisted that “there can be no lasting stability without a complete Israeli withdrawal” from Lebanese territory.
- 04:09 GMT
President Trump has now repeated his claim that due to US blockade Tehran is losing $500 million a day for the third time in just a few hours. In his latest Truth Social post, Trump again argued that Tehran was desperate to see the waterway reopened because of mounting financial losses, adding that Iran was “collapsing financially” and alleging that members of its military and police were complaining about not being paid.
- 03:48 GMT
The Trump administration has reportedly halted US dollar shipments to Iraq and suspended several security cooperation programmes in an effort to pressure Baghdad to curb pro-Iran militias. According to the Wall Street Journal, US Treasury officials also blocked a cargo-plane delivery of nearly $500m in banknotes tied to Iraqi oil-sale proceeds held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. US officials have not yet publicly confirmed the move.
- 03:30 GMT
US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee is returning to Washington to take part in a second round of ambassador-level talks between Israel and Lebanon on Thursday, as the Trump administration seeks to broker an extension of their ceasefire.
Secretary of state Marco Rubio will lead the US side at the State Department meeting, alongside his top aide Mike Needham, Huckabee and US ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa. Israel will be represented by its ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, while Lebanon’s delegation will be led by its ambassador in Washington, Nada Hamadeh.
- 03:08 GMT
A planned US delegation trip to Pakistan has been called off after President Trump said Washington is waiting for a unified proposal from Iran before moving ahead. According to a White House official, the visit will not take place on Tuesday and any further updates on possible in-person meetings would be announced by the White House.
- 02:38 GMT
In order to limit the impact of soaring global fuel prices and make it easier and cheaper to ship oil between US ports, Donald Trump is considering keeping in place a temporary waiver of the controversial Jones Act, according to Axios.
The 60-day waiver, issued on 18 March in response to rising fuel prices, has allowed foreign-flagged vessels to carry oil domestically, effectively expanding the available tanker fleet and helping to move millions of barrels across the country. According to US officials, the measure has had a notable impact in places such as Alaska, where additional jet fuel imports have helped ease supply pressures.
The move has reopened a longstanding debate over the 1920 maritime law, with critics arguing it drives up costs and supporters saying it protects US shipping and shipbuilding jobs. White House officials said no final decision had been taken on extending the waiver, though one Trump adviser said the president “likes what he sees.”
- 02:09 GMT
Iran's UN ambassador has said Tehran is ready to resume negotiations in Islamabad as soon as the US lifts the blockade of Iranian ports.
“As soon as Washington ends the naval blockade, I think the next round of negotiations will be held in Islamabad,” Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s permanent representative to the UN, told reporters at UN headquarters in New York earlier in the day.
“We have not initiated military aggression. If they want a political solution, they will find us ready. If they want war, Iran is ready for that,” he added.
- 01:20 GMT
The US Department of War is using the ceasefire to prepare for a renewed confrontation with Iran, according to a CENTCOM post on X highlighting remarks by its commander, Admiral Brad Cooper, and accompanied by footage of warplanes, ships and US troops.
“We are rearming. We’re retooling, and we’re adjusting our tactics, techniques and procedures,” Cooper said. “There is no military in the world that adjusts like we do, and that’s exactly what we’re doing right now during the ceasefire.”
U.S. Central Command forces remain ready... pic.twitter.com/ddkfNDQ6k7
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 21, 2026 - 01:02 GMT
Donald Trump has lashed out at the Wall Street Journal over an opinion piece critical of his handling of Iran, calling one of its editorial writers an “idiot” and accusing the paper of having “lost its way.”
In a lengthy post, Trump rejected the suggestion that Tehran had outmanoeuvred him, instead claiming Iran had been left militarily and economically devastated by US action. He listed what he described as the destruction of Iran’s navy, air force, air defences and nuclear facilities, and said the Strait of Hormuz was now under total US control, costing Tehran hundreds of millions of dollars a day.
Trump also used the post to attack former presidents over their handling of Iran and to criticise media owner Rupert Murdoch, saying the Journal was no longer essential reading but “just another failing political rag”.
- 00:37 GMT
President Trump has claimed Iran does not really want the Strait of Hormuz closed, arguing that Tehran is only saying so to “save face” after the US Department of War imposed its own blockade. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Iran was losing about $500m a day while the strait remained shut and claimed that unnamed “people” had approached him four days earlier saying Tehran wanted it reopened immediately.
“But if we do that, there can never be a Deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their Country, their leaders included!” he said.
