The 60-day ceasefire between the United States and Iran hit its formal deadline on August 17, and Pakistani mediators say both sides have agreed to extend it rather than let the truce lapse. The extension, brokered under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding signed on June 17, was reported by Pakistani government sources in the days before the deadline — though as of Monday, neither Washington nor Tehran had issued a public confirmation.
The original memorandum gave both parties 60 days to reach a final settlement, with an option to extend by mutual consent if talks were still productive but incomplete. That option is now reportedly being exercised for a second time: the ceasefire itself followed a Pakistan-brokered truce reached in April, after which the two sides spent weeks negotiating terms before formalizing them in June.
A Truce Forged After Direct Strikes
The stakes behind the deadline are not abstract. Between July 8 and July 24, the US and Iran traded direct military strikes, with Washington hitting targets inside Iran and Tehran responding by striking facilities it described as US military assets in Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait. Talks over a final agreement later stalled specifically over security guarantees and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz — the same chokepoint that resurfaced in President Trump's rhetoric hours before the deadline.
Trump Threatens Oman Over Hormuz Access
"If Oman gets in the way, we'll bomb the s*** out of them," President Trump said, warning the Gulf state against obstructing US efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war with Iran.
The remark underscores how unresolved the Hormuz question remains even as the broader ceasefire reportedly holds. Roughly a third of global seaborne oil exports transit the strait, and any disruption — or even the threat of one — has historically moved oil prices and, by extension, risk sentiment across equities and crypto markets alike.
Related: US-Iran 60-Day Deadline Expires With Strait of Hormuz Still Unresolved
For crypto traders, the Iran-US standoff has become a recurring volatility trigger this year, with bitcoin and broader risk assets typically wobbling on escalation headlines and stabilizing on de-escalation news. An extended ceasefire, even an unconfirmed one, removes — at least temporarily — one of the tail risks that has periodically weighed on institutional appetite for crypto exposure alongside oil-sensitive equities and currencies.
Both governments are expected to resume negotiations under the extended timeline, with the same unresolved sticking points — security guarantees and Hormuz navigation rights — still on the table. Absent a formal joint statement from Washington or Tehran, the extension remains, for now, a reported outcome rather than a confirmed one.
