President Donald Trump on Wednesday indicated that the second round of ceasefire talks between Iran and the US could take place as soon as this Friday.
Pakistani negotiators have also claimed that fresh breakthroughs in the mediation efforts behind the scenes meant the peace talks could take place over the next "36-72 hours".
"It's possible," Trump told the New York Post, in response to the claims of the Pakistani mediators—a vague response that comes just a day after he indefinitely extended the ceasefire.
In his Tuesday announcement, Trump had declared that while the US Navy blockade in the Strait of Hormuz would remain in effect, the two-week ceasefire in the war would be extended till "fractured" Iran presented a "unified proposal" to end the war.
"I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted," he wrote in a Truth Social post on Tuesday.
However, the new claims of a second round of peace talks by Friday have sparked a great deal of uncertainty, as they also come just hours after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attacked three vessels trying to exit the strait.
The IRGC, which has already flagged the blockade as a violation of the ceasefire terms, alleged that it had opened fire at the cargo vessels because they had "ignored the warnings of the Iranian armed forces", as per a Nour News report.
Maritime trackers have also been reporting alleged leaks in the blockade.
This comes despite Trump's claim that it was a “tremendous success”, and the Central Command of the US military (CENTCOM) declaring that it had so far detained one container ship, boarded a sanctioned tanker, and forced 28 vessels to return to Iranian ports since the blockade began.
Since the start of the U.S. blockade against ships entering or exiting Iranian ports, U.S. forces have directed 28 vessels to turn around or return to port. pic.twitter.com/mZOq3SfxKt
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 21, 2026
According to a Financial Times report citing Vortexa data, at least 34 tankers linked to Iran had managed to bypass the blockade, of which at least six were found to be carrying crude oil from Tehran.
19 of the 34 Iran-linked tankers reportedly passed through the US blockade to exit the Gulf, while 15 entered the Persian Gulf from the Arabian Sea, heading for Tehran.
