New reporting reveals the Trump administration was directly involved in drafting the Prime Minister of Pakistan's socia [View all]

New reporting reveals the Trump administration was directly involved in
drafting the Prime Minister of Pakistan's social media post requesting a ceasefire.

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White House Knew About Pakistan’s Cease-Fire Post on X Before It Was Sent

Pakistan’s prime minister posted a public plea on X for President Trump to extend his Tuesday evening deadline for Iran. The White House was directly involved in shaping the message.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/08/world/middleeast/trump-pakistan-tweet-iran.html

Listen · 1:37 min

By Tyler Pager and Katie Rogers April 8, 2026


It seemed like a last-ditch public plea.

President Trump’s 8 p.m. deadline for Iran was fast approaching, and Pakistan was trying to orchestrate an off-ramp for both sides. So Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took to social media.

Mr. Sharif, adopting Trumpian parlance, said in a post on X Tuesday afternoon that diplomacy was “progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully” and that he was requesting that Mr. Trump extend the deadline for two weeks. He then tagged Mr. Trump and other top advisers.

But behind the scenes, the White House had already seen and signed off on the statement before Mr. Sharif posted it, according to a person briefed on the communication, a sign that the diplomatic channels were much more active than the message on social media suggested.

And it showed that the White House — even as Mr. Trump was threatening to wipe out Iran’s civilization unless Tehran agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz — was actively looking for a way out of the crisis as the deadline drew near on Tuesday.

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