Dubai/Jerusalem/Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, less than two hours before his deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face devastating attacks on its civilian infrastructure.
Trump’s announcement on social media represented an abrupt turnaround from earlier in the day, when he issued an extraordinary warning that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if his demands were not met.
Iran said talks between the U.S. and Iran would begin on Friday in Islamabad, Pakistan, whose prime minister helped mediate the ceasefire. Iranian state TV claimed Trump had accepted Iran’s terms for ending the war, describing it as a “humiliating retreat” by the U.S. president.
Trump said the last-minute deal was subject to Iran’s agreement to pause its blockade of oil and gas supplies through the strait, which typically handles about one-fifth of global oil shipments. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, said in a statement that Tehran would stop counterattacks and provide safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
“This will be a double-sided CEASEFIRE!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “The reason for doing so is that we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning long-term peace with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East.”
The war, now in its sixth week, has claimed more than 5,000 lives in nearly a dozen countries, including more than 1,600 civilians in Iran, according to tallies from government sources and human rights groups.
Conditioned on Straits Reopening
Two White House officials confirmed that Israel has also agreed to the two-week ceasefire and to suspend its bombing campaign on Iran. Israeli media reported that the cessation of hostilities would begin once Iran reopened the strait and that Israel expected Iranian attacks to continue in the interim.
