Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, on Tuesday asked US President Donald Trump to postpone his deadline for Iran by two weeks and implement a truce for that same period, while also urging Tehran to allow maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz during that time.
“To allow diplomacy to run its course, I earnestly request President Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks," wrote Sharif, whose government has been serving as a mediator between Iran and the United States, in a post on social media.
“Pakistan, in all sincerity, requests the Iranian brothers to open Strait of Hormuz for a corresponding period of two weeks as a goodwill gesture," he added.
“We also urge all warring parties to observe a ceasefire everywhere for two weeks to allow diplomacy to achieve conclusive termination of war, in the interest of long-term peace and stability in the region," wrote the Pakistani Prime Minister, who added that efforts to end the conflict are “progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully."
A senior Iranian official told the Reuters news agency that Iran is positively considering the Pakistani proposal.
A White House spokesperson told Israel’s Channel 12 News that President Trump had been updated on the Pakistani proposal and that the US would submit its response to the proposal soon.
Trump commented on the Pakistani Prime Minister’s request in a conversation with Fox News and said, “I'm not yet fully briefed. I can say this - I know him very well. He’s a highly respected man, all over."
Trump, whose deadline for Iran to reach a deal is set to expire at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday night, warned in an earlier post on Truth Social that a civilization will "die tonight" if Iran does not accede to his ultimatum.
"A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again," Trump wrote. "I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will."
"However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!" he said.
On Monday, the President gave a speech in which he clarified that the deadline he set for reaching an agreement with Iran until Tuesday remains in place, and issued additional threats against the regime in Tehran.
"The entire country [of Iran] can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night" Trump said. The remarks came after Iran rejected the offer of a temporary ceasefire and demanded an end to the war subject to several conditions: an end to conflicts in the region, the establishment of a protocol for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, the restoration of infrastructure and the complete lifting of sanctions.
Iran later rejected Trump’s threats, claiming the US suffered a humiliation in the war and calling the President “delusional".
A spokesman for Iran’s Armed Forces Central Headquarters said, “The rude, insolent, and baseless threats of the delusional US President will not make up for the humiliation and disgrace of the United States in the West Asia region."
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of the Seventh Day of Passover in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)