The China Mail - Trump extends ceasefire, claims Iran 'collapsing financially'

There was no word from Tehran on the ceasefire and an Iranian gunboat fired on a container ship off the coast of Oman, causing damage but no casualties, according to a British maritime security agency.

On the Lebanon front, where a truce is also in place in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, an Israeli strike on an area where the Iran-backed militant group has long held sway killed one person, Lebanese state media said.

Trump said he had pushed back the end of the two-week truce following a request by Pakistani mediators and to give Iran's "fractured" leadership time to form a proposal.

The ceasefire has brought some respite to a region engulfed for weeks in war but with no agreement yet in place, uncertainty has remained and brought little relief to global markets.

Trump, who said the US blockade of Iran's ports would continue, also said the Islamic republic was "collapsing financially" due to the blockade of Hormuz.

"They want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately - Starving for cash! Losing 500 Million Dollars a day. Military and Police complaining that they are not getting paid. SOS!!!" he wrote on social media.

Iran has all but shut the strait, a key conduit for global energy flows, since the United States and Israel launched a massive attack on the Islamic republic that sparked the Middle East war.

Residents in the Iranian capital who spoke to Paris-based AFP journalists said life had worsened despite the truce.

"This cursed ceasefire has broken us," said Saghar, 39. "I don't know anyone around me who is doing well."

Oil prices fell, along with stocks, on Wednesday as investors assessed the chances of US-Iran peace talks.

- 'Ignored warnings' -

Britain and other US allies have previously told Washington they would not join any military effort to forcibly reopen Hormuz.

But, with a truce now in place, albeit temporary, the British defence ministry said it would host two days of UK-France led talks on the waterway involving more than 30 countries starting Wednesday.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre reported, meanwhile, that an Iranian Revolutionary Guards gunboat had fired at a vessel off the coast of Oman on Wednesday.

According to British maritime security firm Vanguard Tech, the vessel was sailing under a Liberian flag and "had been informed it had permission to transit the Strait of Hormuz".

But Iranian news agency Tasnim said the ship had "ignored warnings from Iran's armed forces".

The US Defense Department said Tuesday that US forces had intercepted and boarded a "stateless sanctioned" vessel. AFP has identified the vessel as one affiliated with Iranian activity.

Both sides have accused the other of ceasefire breaches.

- Pakistan talks? -

Ahead of Trump's truce extension, it had been unclear exactly when the ceasefire would expire, with Pakistan indicating it would end at 2350 GMT Tuesday while Iran had put the timing at 0000 GMT.

The fate of peace talks hosted by Pakistan remains unclear.

A previous round of talks collapsed with Iran accusing the United States of making excessive demands.

A White House official confirmed that Vice President JD Vance would not travel to Pakistan for a new round of negotiations as previously planned, pending the submission of an Iranian proposal.

Iran, on the other hand, said never announced whether it had decided to send a delegation, with experts saying its noncommittal was a way to put pressure on the Trump administration.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Trump for extending the ceasefire. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also welcomed the move.

In Lebanon, which was also plunged into war when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel to avenge its killing of Iran's supreme leader, an Israeli strike killed one person and wounded two others on Wednesday, Lebanese state media said.

A separate 10-day ceasefire was agreed between the two nations on Friday and included Hezbollah.

But the militant group on Tuesday said it had launched rockets and attack drones at northern Israel in response to "blatant" ceasefire violations, which it said included "attacks on civilians and the destruction of their homes and villages".

The Israeli military said that day that Hezbollah "launched several rockets" towards soldiers still stationed in south Lebanon and that the military struck the launcher in response.

Israel and Lebanon, which have no diplomatic relations, will hold fresh talks in Washington on Thursday, a State Department official told AFP.

Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 2,454 people since the start of the war, a Lebanese government body said in its latest toll.

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K.Leung--ThChM