US-Iran, Trump extends truce but negotiations are on hold

The crisis thus remains unresolved, with a tnegotiation stuck between a succession of contradictory rumours and stances. Tehran insists on lifting the port blockade and accuses Washington of unacceptable and contradictory actions, the departure for Islamabad of Vice-President Vance and the US delegation has been suspended.

With the countdown to the end of the truce reportedly already over, at least according to Iranian media and Pakistani mediators, the likelihood of talks in Islamabad between the United States and Iran grew increasingly dimmer during the day on 21 April, as the hours ticked by, with no official confirmation of the delegations' departure from their respective capitals.

Conversely, oil prices went up. At least until US President Donald Trump's late-night announcement that the ceasefire will be extended 'until such time as a proposal is submitted' by Iran and 'discussions will be concluded, one way or the other'. In Tehran, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei had explained in the evening that the reason why Iranian emissaries were not yet on their way "is not indecision, but contradictory messages and behaviour and unacceptable actions on the American side". Baghaei added that Iran would decide to take part in the negotiations "when they become result-oriented".

The US vice-president, JD Vance, the special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the advisor, Jared Kushner (President Donald Trump's son-in-law), in turn suspended their departure and remained engaged in meetings at the White House. Also present were the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and the Secretary of Defence, Pete Hegseth.

The time for the initial truce, meanwhile, has now run out. Trump had initially announced that it would last two weeks from the evening of Tuesday 7 April in Washington, although he had recently speculated that it could last until the evening of today, Wednesday 22 April, effectively extending it by 24 hours. According to Reuters, a Pakistani source involved in the talks reported that the truce would expire at 3.30am on Thursday in Iran. But the Pakistani Minister of Information, Attaullah Tarar, reported that the truce would expire at 4:50 a.m. local time on Wednesday morning (1:50 a.m. in Italia). In confirmation, Iranian state television said the cease-fire would expire at 3:30am Tehran time on Wednesday (2am in Italia).

Trump, when it still seemed that the talks in Islamabad would take place, had declared to Cnbc that he did not want to extend the truce in the event of failure, only to later deny himself: "I expect to bomb," he said, "because I think it is a better attitude to adopt, but the army is eager to leave. A threat that provoked unfailing Iranian retorts: the government spokesman, Fatemeh Mohajerani, warned that "should new attacks occur, we will certainly respond more firmly than before". And the Speaker of Parliament, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, who had led the first round of talks and would be the person in charge of leading the second round as well, stated that his country would not 'accept negotiations under threat'. A clash is allegedly taking place in Iran between the extremists of the Revolutionary Guard, the country's armed wing, and the advocates of the diplomatic route, such as Ghalibaf himself.

Tehran has repeatedly stated that it will not negotiate until Washington lifts the blockade of its ports, 'an act of war and therefore a violation of the ceasefire', Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.

Today, the US Navy announced that it had boarded an Iranian oil tanker in international waters, the first such move against crude oil exports. According to MarineTraffic's tracking data, the latest report of the ship's position was this morning, near Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean. The tanker was almost fully loaded, with two million barrels of crude oil, and had indicated Singapore as its destination.

On social media, Trump claimed that Iran had committed numerous ceasefire violations. He told Cnbc that US forces intercepted a ship carrying a "gift" from China to Iran, adding that he was "a little surprised" because he thought he had an "agreement" with President Xi Jinping that Beijing should stop sending aid to the ally.

The Treasury Department also announced new sanctions against 14 individuals, companies, and aircraft in Iran, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates allegedly involved in procuring or transporting weapons or weapons components, including drones, on behalf of the authorities in Tehran.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, during a meeting with the US Chargé d'Affaires in Islamabad, Natalie Baker, called on the parties to 'extend the ceasefire and give diplomacy a chance'. A first round of negotiations ten days ago produced no results and Tehran had ruled out a second round. Trump has threatened to attack the country's civilian infrastructure if no agreement is reached.