Pakistan proposes 2-week Iran ceasefire ahead of Trump deadline

The Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday called on President https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump" target="_blank">Trump and the Iranian regime to agree to a two-week ceasefire to give time for peace talks.

Why it matters: Sharif's statement came less than five hours before Trump's deadline to either get a deal or unleash a massive bombing campaign on Iranian infrastructure.

Pakistan has been the primary mediator between the U.S. and https://www.axios.com/world/iran" target="_blank">Iran over the last several weeks.

• As Axios reported, negotiations between the U.S. and Iran have made progress over the last 24 hours.
• This proposal could give both sides a temporary off-ramp.

What he is saying: "Diplomatic efforts for peaceful settlement of the ongoing war in the Middle East are progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully with the potential to lead to substantive results in near future," Sharif wrote on X.

https://www.axios.com/2026/04/07/iran-negotiations-trump-threat-progress" target="_blank">Go deeper