The White House was “directly involved” in a social media post by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in which he “sincerely” asked US President Donald Trump to extend the April 7 deadline on Iran by two weeks, New York media reported.
The New York Times said “the White House was directly involved in shaping this message” shared by Sharif on
“To allow diplomacy to proceed smoothly, I earnestly ask President Trump to extend the deadline by two weeks,” he said.
Sharif also asked Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz for two weeks as a show of goodwill.
“We also urge all warring parties to abide by the two-week ceasefire agreement everywhere in order to finally end the war through diplomatic means to maintain long-term peace and stability in the region,” he added.
The United States and Iran agreed on Wednesday to a two-week conditional ceasefire ahead of face-to-face meetings in Islamabad to resolve differences and turn the ongoing truce into a lasting peace.
The New York Times report described it as a “last-ditch public plea”, saying Trump’s 8pm deadline on Iran was approaching and “Pakistan was trying to arrange an exit for both sides”.
“As a result, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif made comments on social media,” the statement said, noting that Sharif tagged Trump and other senior advisers in the post.
The New York Times said Sharif used “Trump’s version of events” when he wrote the article on Tuesday afternoon.
But behind the scenes, the White House had seen and signed off on Sharif’s statement before it was released, the New York Times reported, citing a person with knowledge of the communication.
“This suggests that despite Trump’s threats to wipe out Iranian civilization unless Tehran agrees to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the White House is actively looking for a way out of the crisis as Tuesday’s deadline approaches,” the report said.
The New York Times report also said a White House official denied that Trump wrote the statement, with social media users fueling the speculation by pointing out that Sharif’s original statement was titled “*Draft – Message from Pakistan Prime Minister on X*.”
At 8:06 a.m. on April 7, Trump threatened in a post on Truth Social that “the entire civilization will die tonight and will never be resurrected.”
“I don’t want this to happen, but it might happen. However, now that we have completed a complete regime change, different, smarter, less radical ideas prevail, maybe some revolutionary and wonderful things will happen, who knows? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complicated history of the world. 47 years of extortion, corruption and death will finally end. God bless the great people of Iran!” Trump once said.
This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.
