Trump and Iran Agree to Two-Week Ceasefire Brokered by Pakistan
Quick Reads
- US President Donald Trump announced a two-week suspension of planned strikes on Iran on Tuesday evening, hours before his own 8pm deadline for an attack.
- Pakistan brokered the deal, with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir making a direct appeal to Trump.
- Iran agreed to allow safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz for the ceasefire period, in coordination with its armed forces.
- Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed Tehran’s acceptance, stating that Iran’s military would halt defensive operations if US and Israeli attacks stopped.
- The ceasefire also extends to Lebanon, with Pakistan confirming that Israel and Hezbollah would pause hostilities effective immediately.
US President Donald Trump announced Tuesday evening that he was suspending planned military strikes on Iran for two weeks, after Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir appealed directly for restraint. Iran accepted the pause, agreeing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping, a condition Trump had made central to any deal. Both sides confirmed the ceasefire independently, and Pakistan said it would extend to Lebanon, where Israel and Hezbollah were also directed to stand down immediately.
Trump made the announcement on Truth Social at 6:32pm US Eastern time (22:32 GMT), less than 90 minutes before his stated 8pm deadline for a major attack on Iranian infrastructure. He credited Pakistan for the breakthrough and said the US had received a 10-point peace proposal from Iran, which he described as a workable basis for negotiations. Iran had earlier rejected a 15-point framework put forward by the United States. Trump said that the two-week pause would be used to finalize a long-term peace agreement, adding that most points of disagreement between the two countries had already been resolved.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed the arrangement in a post on X, stating that safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be possible for two weeks through coordination with Iranian armed forces. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council added that the ceasefire could be extended beyond the initial period if negotiations proceeded well. The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas travels, had been effectively shut to international shipping since the US and Israel launched their joint military campaign against Iran on February 28. The blockade had sent global fuel prices sharply higher, including in the United States, drawing criticism of Trump even from within his conservative base.
The war, now more than five weeks old, has killed at least 2,076 people inside Iran, according to Al Jazeera, with 28 additional deaths recorded in nearby Gulf states. Thirteen US military personnel and 26 people in Israel have also been killed since hostilities began. Earlier on Tuesday, before the ceasefire was announced, Trump had posted a stark warning on social media, that an entire civilization could die that night, a statement condemned by world leaders and UN agencies. With the ceasefire now in force, hundreds of ships stranded near the strait are expected to resume passage, a development analysts say could begin to ease the ongoing global oil supply crisis. Further talks between the US and Iran are expected to take place in Islamabad in the coming weeks.
