President Donald Trump has set a number of deadlines for launching huge attacks on critical Iranian infrastructure — however over the course of the practically eight-week conflict, he has repeatedly modified the deadlines to chop a deal — usually on the final minute.
On Tuesday, Trump introduced that he’ll indefinitely extend the present ceasefire with Iran and proceed a U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as talks proceed. This got here as the latest ceasefire settlement was on the verge of expiring.
Talking to Bloomberg on Monday, Trump made clear that he anticipated the ceasefire to run out on “Wednesday night Washington time” including that it was “extremely unlikely” that he would prolong this deadline.
President Donald Trump speaks throughout a roundtable dialogue on his “No Tax on Ideas” coverage, April 16, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Alex Brandon/AP
Nonetheless, he finally did precisely that, asserting on his social media platform Tuesday that he’ll “prolong the Ceasefire till such time as [the Iranians’] proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, by some means.”
This time round, the president didn’t present a brand new deadline for the way lengthy the ceasefire extension will final.
Here’s a take a look at Trump’s deadlines:
March 21
After the conflict began in late February, Trump imposed his first deadline on the night of March 21, sending Iran a 48-hour ultimatum to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“If Iran does not FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, inside 48 HOURS from this actual time limit, the USA of America will hit and obliterate their numerous POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!” Trump warned in a social media publish.
Since then, the president has issued 4 different deadlines for Iran to conform along with his calls for, finally overriding each with a brand new deadline.
Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam mentioned in a publish to X on Tuesday that Iran “will Not negotiate below Menace and Power.”
March 23
Two days later, earlier than the 48 hours had been up, Trump introduced that he ordered the Division of Protection to postpone all strikes on Iran’s vitality amenities for a five-day interval, following “GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS” with Iran.
March 26
Simply earlier than the five-day interval expired, the president prolonged the pause as soon as extra, citing “ongoing” talks between the U.S. and Iran.
“I’m pausing the interval of Power Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Japanese Time,” Trump mentioned.
April 5
Someday earlier than the 10-day extension was set to run out, Trump pushed the deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz to 2 days later.
“Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Japanese Time!” he wrote on his social media platform, referring to April 7.
April 7
On the day of this new deadline, the president issued a stark warning {that a} “complete civilization will die tonight, by no means to be introduced again once more,” if Iran didn’t comply along with his calls for.
In response, Iran stopped negotiations with the U.S. — telling mediators in Pakistan that it will now not interact in ceasefire talks.
However simply hours earlier than the 8 p.m. deadline was set to hit, with the Strait of Hormuz nonetheless successfully closed on the time, Trump introduced that he would “droop the bombing and assault of Iran for a interval of two weeks.”
“Topic to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I conform to droop the bombing and assault of Iran for a interval of two weeks,” Trump mentioned.
The U.S. and Iran failed to achieve a deal inside this two-week interval, regardless of each international locations meeting face-to-face in Islamabad, Pakistan, for in-person peace talks. The U.S. army began a blockade of Iranian ports final week as reopening the Strait of Hormuz remained a sticking level in talks between the U.S. and Iran over negotiations to finish the conflict.
In current days, because the two-week ceasefire deadline loomed, Trump as soon as once more escalated his rhetoric towards Iran as soon as extra, repeatedly threatening to bomb the whole nation if a deal was not secured by the deadline — although the president finally didn’t carry by with such threats, and as an alternative prolonged the ceasefire.
The spokesman of Iran’s international ministry mentioned Wednesday that the conflict was imposed on Iran by the U.S. and Israel, including that each one of Tehran’s actions have been “consistent with Iran’s inherent proper to authentic protection towards the army aggression,” Iranian state TV reported.
