United States President, Donald Trump, has extended the pause on strikes on Iranian energy plants by 10 days, saying the decision followed a request from Tehran for more time.
Trump had earlier announced on Truth Social that the pause would be extended from five days to two weeks. The initial pause was due to expire on Friday, but the new extension will now keep it in place until April 6.
Speaking in a phone interview with Fox News, Trump said discussions between the United States and Iran were ongoing and progressing “fairly well”.
“They said to me, very nicely, through my people: ‘Could we have more time?’,” the US president tells the hosts of Fox’s The Five.
“They asked for seven [days]. And I said, ‘I’m going to give you ten’, because they gave me ships. You know, we talked about the eight ships. You know, the ‘present’ that I talked about the other day.”
Trump also told a White House cabinet meeting earlier that Iran allowed oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz as a “present” to him during the discussions.
However, Iran has denied that any talks aimed at ending the conflict are taking place.
