Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif Requests Two-Week Extension on Trump's Iran Deadline

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday requested that U.S. President Donald Trump extend by two weeks the deadline he imposed on Iran to end its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, as the original deadline of 8 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, April 7, passed with no sign of Iranian compliance. Sharif posted the appeal on X, urging Trump to allow diplomacy to run its course and simultaneously calling on Iran to open the strait for a corresponding two-week period as a goodwill gesture. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump had been made aware of the Pakistani proposal and that a response would come, without providing further detail. Trump had threatened that if Iran did not meet the deadline, the United States would destroy every bridge and power plant in the country, warning that "a whole civilization will die tonight." The conflict, which began on February 28, 2026, with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, entered its second month with no ceasefire in sight and diplomatic efforts under severe strain.

Pakistan's mediating role tested by Iran's Saudi strikes Pakistan has served as the primary intermediary between Washington and Tehran throughout the conflict, shuttling proposals between the two sides, but two Pakistani sources with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters on Tuesday that no compromise had been reached. A senior Pakistani security official said Iran's overnight strikes on Saudi Arabian industrial facilities linked to U.S. firms threatened to derail the talks entirely, adding that if Saudi Arabia were to retaliate, the dialogue would be over. The official noted that Pakistani retaliation could also draw Islamabad into the conflict under its mutual defence pact with Riyadh. A second Pakistani source said Iran was "walking on thin ice" and that the next three to four hours were critical for the future of dialogue. A senior Iranian source told Reuters that Tehran had rejected a proposal for a temporary ceasefire conveyed by intermediaries, insisting that lasting peace talks could begin only after the United States and Israel ended their strikes, provided a guarantee they would not resume, and offered compensation for damages. Sharif urged all warring parties to observe a ceasefire everywhere for two weeks, describing diplomatic efforts as "progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully with the potential to lead to substantive results in near future." „To allow diplomacy to run its course, I earnestly request President Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks. Pakistan, in all sincerity, requests the Iranian brothers to open Strait of Hormuz for a corresponding period of two weeks as a goodwill gesture.” — Shehbaz Sharif via Reuters

The U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran, designated Operation Epic Fury, began on February 28, 2026, with strikes that killed then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Mojtaba Khamenei, his son, was appointed Supreme Leader on March 9, 2026. Iran responded by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 20% of the world's oil trade passes. The blockade has been in effect for five weeks as of early April 2026. Benchmark Brent crude oil stood at roughly $70 a barrel just before the conflict began and has risen to around $109 a barrel, an increase of over 50%.

Oil shock spreads from gas pumps to global factory floors The economic consequences of the five-week blockade of the Strait of Hormuz spread well beyond financial markets, with businesses from California to India reporting severe disruptions. U.S. retail gasoline prices reached a national average of 4.14 (USD per gallon) — national average gasoline price, highest since August 2022 as of Tuesday, according to GasBuddy data, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration projected gasoline prices could peak at a monthly average of $4.30 a gallon in April and average more than $3.70 a gallon for the full year. GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan warned Reuters that prices could surge past $5 a gallon and hit a new record within weeks if no clear plan to reopen the strait emerged. Diesel prices have risen even more sharply, with the EIA projecting a monthly average peak of $5.80 a gallon in April, just below the record U.S. retail diesel average of $5.83 set in June 2022. In India, gas shortages closed dozens of plants exporting aluminum products, while in Britain some farmers were stretching fertilizer stocks as prices soared. A California plastic bag manufacturer told Reuters he would declare force majeure on pending orders after the cost of plastic resin jumped from 45 cents to 85 cents per pound in a matter of weeks. Goldman Sachs raised its estimate of U.S. recession risk to as much as 30%, and Brent crude stood at around $109 a barrel on Tuesday, having remained above or near $100 for more than three weeks.

2026-02-27: 70, 2026-03-17: 100, 2026-04-07: 109

Dallas Fed warns of 4% inflation if blockade drags on for months Fresh research from the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank published Tuesday warned that an extended disruption of global oil trade could lift headline U.S. inflation well above 4% by year-end, with even larger short-term spikes possible. A working paper laid out scenarios based on the duration of the Hormuz closure: a one-quarter closure could lift inflation in March by 5.2 percentage points on an annualized basis, while a three-quarter closure lasting nine months would drive oil prices from the current $115 a barrel to $167 a barrel and push fourth-quarter inflation up by as much as 1.8 percentage points. Year-over-year inflation as measured by the personal consumption expenditure price index stood at 2.8% in January, against the Federal Reserve's 2% target, while core inflation measured 3.1% in January. The Dallas Fed researchers noted there was "little evidence of higher gasoline prices being passed through to core inflation or long-run inflation expectations becoming unanchored," offering some reassurance to policymakers. In short-term credit markets, the spread between 30-day rates on AA-rated non-financial commercial paper over the one-month Secured Overnight Funding Rate widened to 6 basis points from zero before the conflict began on February 28, according to Federal Reserve weekly data. The EIA cautioned that full restoration of flows through the strait would take months even after the conflict ends, and that uncertainty around future supply disruptions would keep oil prices above pre-conflict levels through the rest of 2026, directly contradicting Trump's repeated assurances to Americans that relief at the pump would be immediate once the war ended.