Trump Extends Pause of Iran Energy Strikes Until April 6

• President Donald Trump again pushed back his deadline for Iran to strike a deal with the United States (U.S.) or face more attacks, saying talks with the country were going “very well.” Trump said he would extend, by 10 days, his pledge to refrain from attacks on Iranian energy sites, offering a brief calm to global energy markets jolted by conflicting signals on the prospect of a halt to the nearly month-long war.
• The move represented the second extension since Saturday’s (March 21) threat to eviscerate Iran’s power plants, in the absence of a deal. “As per Iranian Government request, please let this statement serve to represent that I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time,” Trump said in a social media post on Thursday, March 26, 2026.  
• Emerging-market currencies and U.S. Treasuries pared losses, and the dollar pared gains against major peers after his latest post. Oil prices climbed, with Brent crude settling near $108 a barrel, as shifting signals from the White House on Iran talks left traders unconvinced of a quick resolution.
• It’s still unclear with whom the U.S. is negotiating since several top Iranian government and military officials have been killed. During a Cabinet meeting Thursday morning, Trump said special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, as well as Vice President JD Vance, “will tell me whether or not they think it’s going along.” He added that “we have a lot of time” before the deadline, issued Monday morning (March 23) in Washington, expires.
• Iran is also calling for an end to the war on all fronts, Tasnim reported, a likely reference to Israel’s parallel war against the Tehran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. Witkoff confirmed during the Cabinet meeting that the 15- point proposal had been delivered to Iran through Pakistani mediators, without giving details, and offered a more optimistic tone. He said it had led to “strong and positive messaging and talks.”
• The U.S. has compiled a list of a dozen demands alongside three points Iran would get in return, according to people familiar with the matter. Trump is under pressure to persuade Tehran to reopen the critical waterway for oil and gas flows, a step needed to arrest a global supply shock. He said during Thursday’s Cabinet meeting that Iran had allowed 10 boats of oil to sail through the Strait of Hormuz as a goodwill gesture, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a U.S. insurance program meant to boost shipping through the waterway will begin soon.
• Trump’s extended deadline for talks also allows more time for the U.S. to amass additional troops in the region, with some already set to arrive before the week’s end. On Thursday, Trump repeated an earlier timeline of four to six weeks for military operations and said the U.S. war effort is “ahead of schedule.”

(Source: Bloomberg)