‘They Asked for Seven…’: Trump Grants Iran 10-Day Reprieve on Energy Strikes

US President Donald Trump on Thursday (US time) said he had extended a pause on American strikes targeting Iran’s energy infrastructure to 10 days, pushing the deadline to April 6, 2026, amid ongoing diplomatic engagements between Washington and Tehran.

Speaking to Fox News, Trump said Iran had sought a seven-day extension.

Explaining his decision, Trump added, "They asked for seven, and I said, 'I'm going to give you 10,' because they gave me ships."

He said the extension was granted after Iran allowed the passage of eight oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz as a "present" to the United States.

Why did Donald Trump extend the Iran strike pause to 10 days?

"We talked about the eight ships, the present that I talked about the other day, but they asked for seven, and I gave them ten. And they were very thankful about that," he said.

Earlier in the day, Trump confirmed the extension in a post on Truth Social, stating that the pause would remain in effect until Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M. (Eastern Time).

He said the decision followed a request from the Iranian government and described the negotiations as progressing positively.

The extension follows an earlier decision on Monday when Trump instructed the US Department of War to delay military action against Iranian power plants and energy sites for five days, citing ongoing diplomatic efforts.

What did Donald Trump say about US-Iran “productive conversations” on Truth Social?

In another Truth Social post, he said the United States and Iran had held "very good and productive conversations" aimed at resolving hostilities.

"I am pleased to report that the United States of America, and the country of Iran, have had, over the last two days, very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East," he said.

"Based on the tenor and tone of these in depth, detailed, and constructive conversations, which will continue throughout the week, I have instructed the Department of War to postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy Infrastructure for a five day period, subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" the post added.

Prior to that, Trump had issued a warning to Tehran, giving it 48 hours to open the Strait of Hormuz or face potential strikes.

"If Iran doesn't FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!" he wrote.

Trump’s shifting deadlines, first a five-day reprieve and now a further 10-day extension, reflect evolving developments in the diplomatic process.

Why does Trump claim the US has already won the war against Iran?

During the same Fox News interview, Trump asserted that the United States had already achieved military victory in the conflict.

"We have already won the war, militarily. We have totally won the war," he said, claiming that US and Israeli strikes had significantly degraded Iran’s capabilities.

He stated that Iranian naval and air force assets had been largely destroyed and missile capacity sharply reduced.

"We have already won because we have knocked out their navy; we have knocked out their air force, completely knocked out the air force, just about completely knocked out; we knocked out 154 ships, pretty good ships, in fact, I said, 'why didn't we just take them instead of sinking them we could've used them ourselves, right?' But they like showing how tough they are," he said.

"They are down to about 9%. We knocked out their missile launchers, which is a big deal because without the missile launchers the missiles don't do very well," he added.

(With inputs from ANI)