Star Metro - Trump extends ceasefire, says giving Iran time to negotiate

Trump indefinitely pushed back the end of the truce, crediting a request from mediator Pakistan and stressing the need to give Iran's "fractured" leadership time to form a proposal.

He had previously indicated he would not extend the ceasefire and warned of immediate bombing when it expired.

"I have... directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as (Iran's) proposal is submitted," Trump wrote on social media.

Ahead of Trump's eleventh-hour intervention, it had been unclear exactly when the original ceasefire would expire with Pakistan indicating it would end at 2350 GMT Tuesday.

The fate of peace talks in Islamabad remained shrouded in confusion as Vice President JD Vance, who had been expected to lead the US delegation to Pakistan, had yet to depart as of Tuesday afternoon.

"Additional policy meetings are taking place at the White House in which the vice president will participate," an official said in a brief statement ahead of Trump's announcement.

At around the same time, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said a final decision on whether Iran would take part still had not been made, blaming Washington's "contradictory behaviors and unacceptable actions."

As the original ceasefire deadline drew in, Iran preemptively threatened to attack its Gulf neighbors' oil production facilities if their territory was used to attack it once the ceasefire expired.

"The southern neighbors should know that if their geography and facilities are used in the service of the enemies to attack the Iranian nation, they should bid farewell to oil production in the Middle East," the commander of Guards' aerospace force, Majid Mousavi, was quoted by Fars news agency as saying.

Since a first round of talks, also in Islamabad, Trump has announced a blockade of Iranian ports, while Tehran has closed the Strait of Hormuz again.

The US Defense Department said Tuesday that its forces intercepted and boarded a "stateless sanctioned" vessel as part of Washington's efforts against networks that provide support to Iran.

AFP has identified the vessel as one affiliated with Iranian activity.

Both sides have accused the other of ceasefire breaches.

- 'Cursed ceasefire' -

Residents in the Iranian capital who spoke to Paris-based AFP journalists say life has only got worse despite the truce, squeezed by the government and the war's impact.

"This cursed ceasefire has broken us. There is no light at the end of the tunnel," said Saghar, 39. "The situation is terrible. I don't know anyone around me who is doing well."

Experts said Iran's noncommittal public stance was an attempt to put pressure on Washington.

"The current standoff between the United States and Iran is no longer a clash of capabilities but rather a struggle of political endurance and bargaining leverage," Daniel Byman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies wrote in a commentary.

Despite the ongoing uncertainty, stocks rose on Tuesday amid lingering hopes for a deal to end the conflict.

- Islamabad lockdown -

In Islamabad, heavily armed police and soldiers on Tuesday secured the city's government quarter, which was virtually shut down.

That included the Serena hotel, which hosted the last round of negotiations and where guests had been asked to vacate the premises in recent days.

The rest of the city also saw a beefed-up police presence, with offices, businesses and schools braced for orders to close.

On another front in the war, Israel and Lebanon, which have no diplomatic relations, will hold fresh talks in Washington on Thursday, a State Department official told AFP.

A separate 10-day ceasefire was agreed between the two nations on Friday and included Hezbollah, whose rocket fire in support of Iran drew Lebanon into the wider Middle East conflict.

Sporadic violence has continued and Israel's military warned civilians against returning to dozens of villages in southern Lebanon.

On Tuesday, the Israeli army said the "Hezbollah terrorist organization launched several rockets" at its troops in Lebanon, adding it had "struck the launcher from which the rockets were launched."

Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 2,454 people since the start of the war, a Lebanese government body said in its latest toll.

Hezbollah said it launched an attack on northern Israel on Tuesday in retaliation for what it said were Israeli violations of the ceasefire, the first such claim since the truce began.

burs-gw/bgs

P.M.Martin--SMC