United States President Donald Trump has extended his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to April 6, stepping back from a threatened strike on Iranian energy plants for a second time as both sides exchange contradictory accounts of whether peace talks are actually underway.
Trump announced via his Truth Social platform on Thursday that, citing a request from the Iranian government, he was pausing the threat to destroy Iranian energy plants by 10 days, setting a new deadline of April 6 at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. He said Iran had asked for a seven-day extension, but that he had offered 10 because Tehran had allowed a number of oil tankers to pass through the strait as a gesture of goodwill.
The announcement marked the second extension since Trump first threatened to strike Iran’s power grid on Saturday, March 22. The original five-day pause had been due to expire on Friday.
The move came one day after Tehran formally rejected Washington’s 15-point ceasefire proposal. Iran countered with five conditions of its own, including a full end to hostilities, guaranteed war damage compensation, and recognition of its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi acknowledged the exchange of messages through intermediaries but said the back-and-forth did not constitute negotiations.
Trump, however, insisted during a cabinet meeting that Iran was “begging” for a deal. He also rejected media characterisations of the talks as stalled, saying the reporting was inaccurate.
The war’s economic toll continued to deepen on Thursday. The S&P 500 index fell 1.7 percent for its worst single-day performance since the start of the year. The Nasdaq entered correction territory, falling more than 10 percent below its all-time high. Brent crude oil settled above $101 per barrel, up sharply from roughly $70 before the war began.
On the ground, the conflict showed no sign of easing. Israel said it killed the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps navy, Commodore Alireza Tangsiri, whom Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz blamed for bombing operations blocking the strait. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they carried out missile and drone strikes targeting Israeli sites and United States military facilities in the Gulf, including a Patriot air defence maintenance facility in Bahrain.
Iranian state media reported overnight strikes on residential areas in Tehran and the city of Qom, with rescue workers pulling at least one survivor from rubble in the capital.
The war has now killed more than 1,900 people in Iran and nearly 1,100 in Lebanon, along with 22 Israelis and 13 United States service members. Millions of people across both countries have been displaced.
The Strait of Hormuz, which carries approximately 20 percent of the world’s traded oil and liquefied natural gas, remains effectively closed to hostile-flagged shipping. Iran has said the waterway is open only to vessels not linked to what it describes as the aggressor nations.
