Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has requested that US President Donald Trump extend his deadline for Iran to make a deal by two weeks.

“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 [the] near future,” he has said in a statement on X, in which he has tagged Trump, as well as senior US and Iranian officials.

“To allow diplomacy to run its course, I earnestly request President Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks.”

He also requested that Tehran open the Strait of Hormuz for the same two-week period as a “goodwill gesture”.

“We also urge all warring parties to observe a ceasefire everywhere for two weeks to allow diplomacy to achieve conclusive termination of war, in the interest of long-term peace and stability in the region,” he adds.