Pakistan requests two-week extension for talks as Trump's Iran deadline nears

Pakistan requests two-week extension for talks as Trump's Iran deadline nears Sean Mathews on Tue, 04/07/2026 - 22:10 White House says Trump is aware of Islamabad's request, as the clock ticks down on Trump's threat to destroy Iranian civilisation US President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in James S Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on 6 April 2026 (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/AFP) Off Pakistan issued a last-minute plea for a two-week extension for negotiations to end the US-Israeli war on Iran, as the clock ticks down on President Donald Trump’s 8 pm EST deadline to destroy the country’s “whole civilization”. "To allow diplomacy to run its course, I earnestly request President Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks," Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on X on Tuesday, as he requested that Iran allow the Strait of Hormuz to reopen to all traffic during that time. Experts say that Iran feels it has the upper hand in the conflict, while Trump may be unwilling to back down from a public threat. Sharif called for a two-week ceasefire as negotiations progressed. "We also urge all warring parties to observe a ceasefire everywhere for two weeks to allow diplomacy to achieve conclusive termination of war, in the interest of long-term peace and stability in the region," Sharif wrote. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); "The President has been made aware of the proposal, and a response will come," press secretary Karoline Leavitt told AFP in a statement, when asked about Pakistan's request. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held a phone call with his Pakistani counterpart, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, on Tuesday, as Trump's deadline approached, Reuters reported. In addition, a United Nations envoy is en route to Tehran for negotiations, Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran’s envoy to the body, said on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution put forward by Bahrain to pursue military action to end Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz. The stock market closed slightly higher on news of Pakistan's request. The Dow industrials ended the day down 0.2 percent while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.1 percent. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 'Whole civilization will die tonight' Trump unleashed an expletive-ridden tirade on Easter Sunday, threatening to destroy Iran unless it ceded control of the Strait of Hormuz - a critical waterway through which 20 percent of global energy flows. “Open the fucking strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in hell…Praise be to Allah,” Trump wrote on Sunday on social media. US lawmakers call to remove Trump after 'civilization will die' threat against Iran Read More » He followed up his threat on Tuesday by warning that “a whole civilization will die tonight” unless Iran met his demands. Trump has threatened to conduct a wide-scale bombing campaign against Iranian energy infrastructure and bridges, civilian targets that would be considered a war crime. By late Tuesday, several reports emerged from Iranian media of Israel's targeting of steel and petrochemical plants. Several conflicting reports also appeared on Tuesday, casting doubt on the negotiations Pakistan has been hosting. US media said earlier in the day that talks between the US and Iran had been called off. Shortly after, the Tehran Times reported that indirect channels of negotiations were still open. Trump separately told Fox News that the US was in "heated negotiations" with Iran, but declined to say how they were going. If the US were to follow through on Trump’s threat, it would likely lead to a massive widening of the war. The conflict so far has been defined by Iran reciprocating to US-Israeli attacks on its energy and civilian infrastructure with tit-for-tat attacks on the Gulf. Iran’s Tasnim news agency, which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported on Tuesday that Iran will target Saudi Arabia’s Aramco oil facilities and the Red Sea port of Yanbu, along with the UAE’s Fujairah pipeline, if the US strikes its power plants. Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz to Arab Gulf oil and gas exports. The Saudi Arabian Red Sea port of Yanbu has emerged as a critical hub for millions of barrels of the kingdom’s oil to continue hitting the global market amid the war. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Nuclear questions Trump’s threat to destroy Iran’s civilisation has sparked questions about his mental state and the US’s willingness to use nuclear weapons against Iran. Vice President JD Vance, who some see as a sceptic of foreign intervention, fuelled speculation on Tuesday when he warned Tehran that US forces have tools they "so far haven't decided to use" in the war. The White House denied that Vance's remarks contained any suggestion of a nuclear attack. "Literally nothing @VP said here 'implies' this, you absolute buffoons," the White House said on X. Dozens of Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday called for Trump's removal through the 25th Amendment after his post about destroying Iran's "whole civilization". Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote on X: "25TH AMENDMENT!!! Not a single bomb has dropped on America," and added, "We cannot kill an entire civilization. This is evil and madness." War on Iran News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0