President Donald Trump announced on Thursday afternoon that he would extend his pause on plans to strike Iran’s energy infrastructure, “per Iranian government request,” for an additional 10 days amid ongoing diplomatic negotiations to end the war.

Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform that he is “pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time.” 

“Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well,” Trump added.

The post comes a few hours after the president said that he wasn’t sure if he would follow through with his five-day delay, set to expire Friday, for strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure, which he had pushed back at the start of diplomatic negotiations on Monday. 

“I don’t know yet,” Trump said when asked by reporters if the strikes would still take place Friday. “It’s a day. In Trump time, a day, you know what it is? That’s an eternity.”

Trump made the comments while speaking to reporters at the opening of his first Cabinet meeting since launching the war in Iran.

He alleged that Iranian leaders “are begging to make a deal” to end the war while criticizing press reports alleging that he was looking for a diplomatic off-ramp to the conflict, saying he has not decided whether he’ll agree to a diplomatic settlement if one were reached.

“They are begging to make a deal. Not me,” Trump said of current Iranian leadership. “They’re not fools, they’re very smart actually in a certain way and they’re great negotiators. I say they’re lousy fighters, but they are great negotiators. They are begging to work out a deal. I don’t know if we will be able to do that. I don’t know if we’re willing to do that. They should’ve done that four weeks ago. They should’ve done it two years ago.”

“The reason they want to make a deal is they have been just beat to sh*t,” he said later on, touting the U.S. military operation as a success. 

During the meeting, White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed reports that the U.S. had presented Iran with a “15-point action list” as a starting offer in peace talks between the two countries. He also confirmed that Pakistan had been acting as a mediator for the U.S. and Iran.

“We will see where things lead, and if we can convince Iran that this is the ​inflection point ​with ⁠no good alternatives for them other than more death ​and destruction,” Witkoff said. “We ​have ⁠strong signs that this is a possibility.”

Witkoff said to Trump, “You’ve instructed us that your preference is always peace and that we should make that our priority. We have delivered that message, sir, along with the 15 points for peace. Finally, we have told Iran one last thing: don’t miscalculate again.”

Trump later revealed that the “present” Iran gifted the U.S. was allowing eight oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, which he said proved the U.S. was speaking with the “right people” in Iran with the authority to make such decisions. 

“They said to show you the fact that we’re real, and solid and we’re there, we’re going to let you have eight boats of oil, eight boats, eight big boats of oil,” Trump said of the Iranians. “And I said, ‘Well, I guess they were right,’ and they were and they were real.”

Trump then said that Iran later allowed two additional vessels to travel through the strait, which he described as an overture from the Iranians to “apologize for something they said.”

Turning to Witkoff, the president then expressed hope that he hadn’t “screwed up” their diplomatic efforts by revealing the “gift.”