 "US President Donald Trump. (Photo: Reuters)")
Amid his pursuit of the carrots-and-sticks approach, US President Donald Trump has set April 6 as the new deadline to reach a deal with Iran to end the war.
Trump on Thursday said on Truth Social that he had extended the moratorium on strikes on energy ingratitude for 10 more days at Iran’s request. He stressed that US-Iran talks were progressing “very well”.
The announcement came as the deployment of additional Marines and paratroopers —around 7,000 personnel— to West Asia for potential ground operations continued. Additionally, Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was considering deploying another 10,000 personnel to West Asia.
Trump’s mixed signals on Thursday settled the last few days’ relative calmness in the markets. American stocks suffered their worst decline he launched the war on February 28: the S&P 500 fell 1.7 per cent and the Nasdaq 100 fell 2.4 per cent. The Brent crude rose 5.7 per cent to $108 a barrel to its highest point this week.
Trump initially set a 48-hour deadline that he extended for five more days on Monday. Now, he has extended it for 10 more days.
Trump has tapped Pakistan to establish a backchannel with Iran. Even as Trump has shown eagerness to make a deal lately, Iran has responded cautiously as it fears being played for a third time — the United States and Israel attacked Iran in June 2025 and then again last month during negotiations.
Iran rejects Trump’s proposals but continues dialogue
Publicly, Iran has rejected Trump’s 15-point proposal passed on by Pakistan and floated its own five-point plan.
But there are reports that Iran has continued backchannel negotiations and has expressed willingness to make a deal.
Axios reported a source with knowledge of the mediation efforts as saying that Iranian officials have made it clear they are interested in negotiations despite the public rejection of Trump’s offer. But, at the same time, they have not yet responded to Trump’s offer for an in-person meeting.
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View All“The key issue for the mediators is to make the meeting happen. But the main problem has been mistrust and the Iranian suspicion that the US is tricking them again,” the source told Axios.
Trump’s continued military moves complicate talks
Even as Trump has pursued talks, the escalation has continued.
The United States and Israel on Thursday claimed to have killed Alireza Tangsiri, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) navy chief, who oversaw the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Separately, Trump continued the build-up for an invasion of Iran.
The Marines and paratroopers that Trump has deployed to West Asia specialise in expeditionary operations involving incursions, seizures, and territory‑holding. These types of forces will come in handy if Trump decides to launch ground operations, such as seizing or destroying the Kharg Island, Iran’s main energy export terminal that handles up to 90 per cent of Iran’s oil and gas shipments.