“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,” Sharif said in a post on X.

Trump has ​given Iran until 8.00 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT) in Washington — 3:30 a.m. in Tehran — to end its blockade of Gulf oil or see ​the US destroy every bridge and power plant in ​Iran.

PM Shehbaz urged “all warring parties” to observe a ceasefire everywhere for two weeks “to ‌allow ⁠diplomacy to achieve conclusive termination of war”.

He added that diplomatic efforts to settle the war peacefully were “progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully with the potential to lead to ​substantive results in ​near future”.

The ⁠White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sources told Reuters on ​Tuesday that talks between the US and ​Iran were ⁠at risk of being derailed following Tehran’s attacks on Saudi Arabian industrial facilities.

Soon after PM Shehbaz’s post, US media outlet Axios reported that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had said Trump had been informed about the request.

“The President has been made aware of the proposal, and a response will come,” it quoted White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt as saying.

Meanwhile, Reuters quoted a senior Iranian official as saying that Iran was positively reviewing Pakistan’s request.