TOKYO, April 7 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average

eased in choppy trade on Tuesday, as investors watched for signs

of progress toward a ceasefire in the U.S.-Israeli war with

Iran, even as U.S. President Donald Trump ramped up threats to

strike Iranian infrastructure.

The Nikkei swayed between gains and losses, last

down 0.4% to 53,202.56, after rising as much as 0.9% earlier in

the session. The broader Topix slid 0.1% to 3,642.53

after climbing as much as 1.1%.

Iran has rejectedWashington's proposal for an immediate

ceasefire, instead calling for a permanent end to the war,

according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

The rejection followed increasingly bellicoseultimatums from

Trump, who vowed to rain "hell" on Iran if a deal is not reached

by Tuesday midnight to reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz to

oil tanker traffic.

"President Trump appears to be increasingly speaking in a

reactive or ad hoc manner, and his messaging has become less

consistent. As a result, markets no longer seem to be parsing

every remark with the same degree of sensitivity they once did,"

said Hitoshi Asaoka, chief strategist at Asset Management One.

"While he continues to reference specific timelines or

deadlines, investors appear to be placing less credibility on

those dates than they did previously."

There were 113 advancers on the Nikkei index and 109

decliners.

Among individual stocks, truckmaker Archion lost

7.3% to be the biggest laggard on the Nikkei index, followed by

Disco , a precision cutting tools supplier for

semiconductors, which declined 5.8%.

Meanwhile, software testing company SHIFT was the

best percentage gainer with a 4.1% rise. TOTO ( TOTDF ), a

bathroom fixtures and sanitary ware manufacturer, added 3%.