The Manila Times
TEHRAN,IRAN — US President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire with Iran to allow more time for talks, claiming the Islamic republic was "collapsing financially" because of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. There was no word from Tehran on the ceasefire and an Iranian gunboat fired on a container ship off the coast of Oman, causing damage but no casualties, according to a British maritime security agency. On the Lebanon front, where a truce is also in place in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, an Israeli strike on an area where the Iran-backed militant group has long held sway killed one person, Lebanese state media said. Trump said he had pushed back the end of the two-week truce following a request by Pakistani mediators and to give Iran's "fractured" leadership time to form a proposal. The ceasefire has brought some respite to a region engulfed for weeks in war but with no agreement yet in place, uncertainty has remained and brought little relief to global markets. Trump, who said the US blockade of Iran's ports would continue, also said the Islamic republic was "collapsing financially" due to the blockade of Hormuz. "They want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately - Starving for cash! Losing 500 Million Dollars a day. Military and Police complaining that they are not getting paid. SOS!!!" he wrote on social media. Iran has all but shut the strait, a key conduit for global energy flows, since the United States and Israel launched a massive attack on the Islamic republic that sparked the Middle East war. Residents in the Iranian capital who spoke to Paris-based AFP journalists said life had worsened despite the truce. "This cursed ceasefire has broken us," said Saghar, 39. "I don't know anyone around me who is doing well." Oil prices fell, along with stocks, on Wednesday as investors assessed the chances of US-Iran peace talks.
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