US-Iran ceasefire: Trump says there is ‘no time frame’ set for ending conflict
Trump says US-Iran peace talks could restart as soon as Friday, according to US media
The White House says President Donald Trump has set no deadline for Iran to submit a peace proposal. Tehran warns it will keep the Strait of Hormuz closed as long as a US naval blockade remains, and says it has seized two vessels in the strategic waterway. Elsewhere, officials from Israel and Lebanon are meeting in Washington on Thursday for a new round of talks, with Beirut expected to push for a one-month extension of a ceasefire set to expire within days. Follow our live blog for the latest updates.
The U.S. military’s Central Command said Thursday its forces in the Mideast had “directed 31 vessels to turn around or return to port as part of the U.S. blockade against Iran.”
The Central American nation's foreign ministry wrote in a statement that the boat, owned by the Italian company MSC Francesca, was "forcibly taken" into Iranian waters on Wednesday, and it accused Iran of violating international law. It wasn't immediately clear if the boat remained in Iranian custody.
The seizure "represents a serious attack on maritime security and constitutes an unnecessary escalation," it wrote.
Panama has one of the largest ship registries, with around 16% of the world's ships flying under the country's flag, according to 2024 data from Panamanian authorities.
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The Pentagon told lawmakers this week it will likely take six months to clear the mines set in the strait, according to a person familiar with the situation who was granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive information.
Officials from the Department of Defense delivered the information during a classified briefing at the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.
The session left more questions than answers as lawmakers probed for information about the cost of the war against Iran, the strategy and objectives, the person said. The lawmakers also raised questions that have still gone unanswered about the strike on a school compound during the early days of the war.
Israel and Lebanon hold a new round of talks in Washington on Thursday, during which Beirut plans to request a one-month extension of a ceasefire due to expire within days.
Israel stated ahead of the talks that it has no "serious disagreements" with Lebanon, calling on it to "work together" against the pro-Iran Hezbollah, which is notably absent from and opposed to the negotiations.
The two countries, officially at war for decades, held a meeting in Washington on April 14, the first of its kind since 1993, in an attempt to put an end to the more than six-week war between Hezbollah and Israel.
The United States announced a 10-day truce shortly after the first meeting, and it is due to expire on Sunday.
Oil prices jumped four percent Thursday after Iran vowed not to reopen the Strait of Hormuz so long as a US naval blockade remained in place despite a ceasefire extension.
At around 0025 GMT, the benchmark US oil contract West Texas Intermediate (WTI) climbed 4.06 percent to $96.73 per barrel. International oil benchmark Brent North Sea crude rose 3.62 percent to $105.63. Both eased back in the following minutes.
Oil prices have soared since Israel and the United States attacked Iran on February 28 and they have kept inching up on the uncertainty over whether war will resume.
As the clock ticked for a return to the war that has engulfed the region, US President Donald Trump had said Tuesday he would maintain the truce to allow more time for Pakistani-brokered peace talks.
Iran said it welcomed the efforts by Pakistan but made no other comment on Trump's announcement.
Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said reopening the Strait of Hormuz is “not possible” amid what Tehran calls “flagrant violations” of the current ceasefire by the US and Israel.
Ghalibaf posted on social media that a “complete ceasefire only has meaning if it is not violated through a naval blockade and the hostage-taking of the world economy,” asserting that the US naval blockade of Iranian ports and Israeli “warmongering” undermine truce commitments.
The remarks come amid ongoing diplomatic efforts — including a ceasefire extension and proposed talks in Pakistan — to end hostilities between Iran and the US. Iran insists that without full compliance by all parties, including lifting maritime restrictions, the strategic waterway will stay closed to international shipping.
The Pentagon announced that the Navy’s top civilian official, Secretary of the Navy John Phelan, is leaving his jobeffective immediately.”
President Trump says Iran peace talks could restart as soon as Friday, according to US media. New reports say Trump estimates they could begin within the next "36 to 72 hours." Trump said Iran's "fructured" leadership failed to come forward with a "unified proposal."
US President Donald Trump has claimed that Iran’s leadership is “seriously fractured” when he announced an indefinite ceasefire extension, while signaling that US pressure on Tehran will continue.
He said the truce would be kept in place to give negotiations "more time", while the US naval blockade on Hormuz and Iranian ports stays.
In response, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian made an immediate pushback: he called out Trump's “hypocritical rhetoric” in the middle of a war-tinged diplomatic standoff, in a message meant to travel far beyond Tehran.
Brent crude returned to the psychologically important $100-per-barrel mark early Thursday, underscoring renewed strength across global oil benchmarks as energy markets reacted to supply uncertainty and geopolitical risk.
A market snapshot taken at 8:21 pm GMT (5.21 am Tokyo, on April 23, 2026) showed Brent crude at $101.5, up $2.97 or 3.02% on the session.
US President Donald Trump has not set a deadline by which Iran must submit a peace proposal, the White House said on Wednesday.
"The president has not set a firm deadline to receive an Iranian proposal, unlike some of the reporting I've seen today. Ultimately, the timeline will be dictated by the commander in chief," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told journalists.
Day 54: Trump extends US-Iran ceasefire
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