- Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has appealed to Donald Trump for a two-week extension to the deadline he set for Iran to cease its blockade of Gulf oil.
- Mr Sharif also called for the “Iranian brothers” to open Strait of Hormuz for a period of two weeks as a “goodwill gesture”.
- In a post on X, he then called for a fortnight-long ceasefire between the parties, citing positive progress in ongoing diplomatic negotiations aimed at securing a resolution.
- Mr Trump issued a chilling threat to Iran on Tuesday, stating that "a whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back again”.
- This alarming declaration was swiftly followed by Iran’s announcement that it would no longer refrain from targeting its Gulf neighbours’ infrastructure after claiming responsibility for recent strikes on a vessel in the Gulf and a major Saudi petrochemical complex.
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