Trump extended the deadline for Iran by 10 days

US President Trump extended the deadline for negotiations with Iran and suspended his threat to bomb Iranian energy facilities for another ten days.

• The Trump administration, through a group of mediators – Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey – asked Tehran to hold a high-level meeting this week to discuss an American proposal to end the war.
• The first five-day extension of the deadline was due to expire on Saturday, and a dramatic military escalation would be more likely if no progress is made in diplomatic talks – especially if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.
• The Pentagon is formulating military plans for a “finishing strike” on Iran, which may include ground forces and large-scale bombing.

• “At the request of the Iranian government, I am delaying the deadline for the destruction of the energy facilities by ten days until Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. ET,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
• He added that “the talks are continuing and progressing well”.

• White House envoy Steve Witkoff said today during a cabinet meeting that in recent days Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey have approached the United States and offered to mediate.
• The United States passed to Iran, through Pakistan, “a 15-point list of measures that constitutes a framework for a peace agreement,” Witkoff said.
• “It led to strong and positive talks… We’ll see where things go and if we can convince Iran that this is a turning point with no good alternatives for them other than more death and destruction. We have strong signs that this is possible,” he said.
• Witkoff claimed that “Iran is looking for a way out” of the war, noting that he told Iranian officials that they should not “make another miscalculation.”

• Trump made the announcement about 10 minutes after the stock market closed in New York, after the worst trading day since the beginning of the war.
• Oil prices fell quickly following the post, but bounced back within minutes, and the price of a barrel of Brent hovered around $107 per barrel on Thursday night Israel time.

• A source familiar with the mediation efforts said that despite public statements rejecting the American proposal, Iranian officials have made it clear that they are interested in negotiations.
• At the same time, senior Iranian officials have not yet given a final answer to the proposal to hold a high-level meeting with the United States in the coming days.
• The source said the mediators are putting pressure on Tehran to agree to the meeting, but Iranian officials say the country’s top leadership has yet to make a decision.
• “The main issue for the mediators is to get the meeting to take place. But the main problem was a lack of trust and the Iranian suspicion that the United States is trying to mislead them again,” the source said.