President Donald Trump said he would pause strikes on Iran’s energy plants for 10 days at Tehran’s request, and he described ongoing negotiations as going "very well," while an Iranian official criticized a U.S. proposal to end the conflict as "one-sided and unfair." The announcement came amid intense regional fighting that has already claimed thousands of lives and severely disrupted global energy and shipping markets.
Trump made the announcement on social media, saying the pause would last until April 6, 2026 at 2000 EDT (0000 GMT on April 7). He wrote that "Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well." He later told Fox News’ "The Five" program that Iran had originally requested a seven-day pause.
There was no immediate confirmation from Tehran that it had requested a 10-day suspension. Mediators involved in the peace talks, cited by the Wall Street Journal, said Iran had not asked for that length of pause.
The conflict escalated after the United States and Israel launched strikes on February 28, following failed negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program. Since then, the fighting has spread across the region, with repeated retaliatory attacks. Iran has struck Israeli territory and U.S. bases and has targeted Gulf states while effectively disrupting fuel exports through the Strait of Hormuz.
Those disruptions have reverberated across markets. Crude oil prices have risen by around 40 percent since the conflict began, and shipments of liquefied natural gas to Asia have spiked roughly two-thirds. Prices for nitrogen-based fertilizers, central to food production, have increased by about 50 percent.
Despite Trump’s public assessment that talks are progressing, hostilities have continued. Iranian forces launched multiple waves of missile attacks on Israel on Thursday, striking Tel Aviv, Haifa and other areas, including a Palestinian town in central Israel. Israel’s military reported that at least one ballistic missile struck Tel Aviv, and several missiles deployed cluster munitions, scattering smaller submunitions and damaging homes and vehicles. In northern Israel, a rocket barrage attributed to Hezbollah struck Nahariya, where emergency services reported one fatality.
Within Iran, strikes were reported in the south, including the city of Bandar Abbas and a village near Shiraz. A university building in Isfahan was also reported to have been hit.
In Washington, the Pentagon confirmed the deployment of uncrewed drone speedboats for patrol duties as part of U.S. operations in the region, marking the first public acknowledgment that such vessels are being used in an active conflict by U.S. forces. Separately, Trump warned that the United States would become the Islamic Republic’s "worst nightmare" if Iran did not meet U.S. demands. Those demands, as outlined by U.S. officials, include reopening the Strait of Hormuz to shipping and ending aspects of Tehran’s nuclear program. Trump also said that taking control of Iran’s oil was an option, though he did not provide further detail.
An Iranian official told mediators that a 15-point U.S. proposal, relayed to Tehran by Pakistan, was examined on Wednesday by senior Iranian officials and the representative of Iran’s supreme leader. According to that official, the Iranian leadership judged the package to favor U.S. and Israeli interests, and described it as serving only those parties. The official added that diplomacy had not been abandoned, even as Iranian sources indicated Tehran had hardened its negotiating stance since the outbreak of war.
Sources quoted by regional intermediaries said Iran has demanded several conditions as part of any settlement, including guarantees against future military action, compensation for losses, and formal control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian intermediaries have also told mediators that Lebanon should be included in any ceasefire arrangement.
The United States has sent thousands of troops to the Middle East, with some forces already arriving, which has fueled expectations of a possible ground invasion even though details remain limited. Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, confirmed that the U.S. provided a 15-point action list intended as the basis for negotiations. Reports indicate the package asks for measures ranging from dismantling Iran’s nuclear program to restricting its missile capabilities and transferring effective control of the strait.
Pakistan’s foreign minister said indirect talks were underway, with messages passed between Tehran and Washington through Islamabad, and additional mediation efforts reportedly involving Turkey and Egypt. Despite these channels, any diplomatic settlement appears likely to be difficult, given Iran’s recent demands for guarantees, compensation and broader strategic concessions.
As talks proceed through intermediaries, the violence has persisted, and the humanitarian and economic toll has deepened. The conflict has caused a significant loss of life, destabilized neighboring states, and pushed commodity prices sharply higher, all while the prospect of continued strikes and protracted negotiations keeps global markets and regional security on edge.
Summary: President Trump announced a 10-day pause in attacks on Iran’s energy facilities and said negotiations were going well, but Iranian officials dismissed a U.S. 15-point proposal as biased. The war, which began after U.S. and Israeli strikes on February 28, has killed thousands, disrupted shipping and energy markets, and seen continued exchanges of missile and rocket fire across the region.
Key points:
- Trump announced a 10-day pause on strikes affecting Iranian energy plants, effective until April 6, 2026 at 2000 EDT (0000 GMT on April 7), and said talks were "going very well."
- Economic disruption has been acute: crude oil prices have increased by around 40 percent, LNG shipments to Asia have jumped by roughly two-thirds, and nitrogen-based fertilizer prices are up about 50 percent.
- Diplomatic exchanges are proceeding indirectly, with mediators including Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt; Iran reviewed a 15-point U.S. proposal relayed by Pakistan and found it to favor U.S. and Israeli interests, according to an Iranian official.
Risks and uncertainties:
- Ongoing military exchanges - continued missile and rocket strikes across the region create sustained risk to energy and shipping sectors, particularly transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
- Diplomatic deadlock - Iranian rejection of the 15-point proposal and demands for guarantees and compensation increase the uncertainty around reaching a durable ceasefire, affecting commodity and agricultural supply chains.
- Escalation potential - large-scale troop deployments and threats of expanded action, including unspecified options regarding control of Iranian oil, raise the possibility of further military escalation with broad economic implications.