US President Donald Trump announces that he is pushing off a major bombing campaign in Iran for two weeks and that Washington has agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, subject to Tehran’s reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
“Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,” Trump writes on Truth Social, less than two hours before his 8 p.m. deadline for Iran to reopen Hormuz and agree to a US proposal for ending the war was set to expire.
“This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE! 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 Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East,” Trump writes
“We received a 10 point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate.”
“Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated,” he adds.
“On behalf of the United States of America, as President, and also representing the Countries of the Middle East, it is an Honor to have this Longterm problem close to resolution,” Trump says.
The announcement marks the fourth time Trump has pushed back his threat to bomb Iran’s energy and civilian infrastructure sites if it doesn’t agree to his demands.
He first gave Tehran 48 hours to reopen the Strait of Hormuz on March 21 and has since pushed back that deadline by five days, ten days and one day respectively.
Trump’s post doesn’t mention whether the ceasefire covers Israel, which has reportedly been cautioning the US against halting strikes in Iran.
Israel part of 2-week ceasefire announced by Trump, will halt strikes on Iran amid negotiations
Israel is part of the two-week ceasefire that US President Donald Trump declared and will halt strikes on Iran as diplomatic negotiations are held, two White House officials tell Reuters.
NYT: Iran has accepted Pakistan’s 2-week truce proposal, faced pressure from China to do so
Following US President Donald Trump’s announcement, the New York Times quotes three Iranian officials saying that Tehran has accepted Pakistan’s proposal for a two-week ceasefire in the US-Israel war with Iran.
The report says that alongside Pakistan’s push for a ceasefire, China intervened at the last minute “to show flexibility and defuse tensions,” while also noting concerns about the economic fallout if Trump went ahead with his threats of US strikes on Iranian energy sites and key infrastructure.
The Iranian officials cited in the report also say that new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei — who has yet to be seen publicly since being declared as his father’s successor — signed off on the truce.
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