Trump pulled back from threats of massive attacks on Iran – Image: Majid Asgaripour/WANA/REUTERS
US President Trump has pulled back from threats to annihilate Iran and agreed to a two-week ceasefire after receiving a 10-point proposal from Tehran. Iran’s foreign minister said the Strait of Hormuz would reopen.
What you need to know
- Trump: ‘I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks’
- Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has reportedly accepted a two-week ceasefire in the war
- Agreement dependent on Iran opening the Strait of Hormuz
- US-Iran talks to take begin in Pakistan on Friday
Pakistan confirms ‘immediate ceasefire … effective immediately’
The prime minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, said early on Wednesday that the United States and Iran, and both countries’ allies, had agreed to an “immediate ceasefire … effective immediately.”
He said the ceasefire, negotiated with Pakistani mediation, also included Lebanon and Israel — despite the Lebanese Health Ministry saying on Wednesday that eight people had been killed in an Israeli strike in the southern city of Sidon.
Sharif confirmed that, as reported, he has invited US and Iranian delegations to Islamabad on Friday to “further negotiate for a conclusive agreement to settle all disputes.”
He praised both parties for their “remarkable wisdom and understanding” and for remaining “constructively engaged in furthering the cause of peace and stability.”
US-Iran talks to take place in Pakistan on Friday
A first round of negotiations between the United States and Iran will take place on Friday in Islamabad, Pakistan, according to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, which nevertheless “emphasized that this does not signify the termination of the war.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran would halt its attacks on neighboring US-allied countries if attacks against it stop, and insisted on Iranian military coordination of transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Supreme Security Council reportedly added: “Our fingers are on the trigger. As soon as the enemy makes the slightest mistake, it will be answered with full force.”
Iran, Israel also accept ceasefire – reports
Iran and Israel have also accepted a proposal made by Pakistan for a two-week ceasefire, according to reports in the United States, Israel and Iran.
The New York Times has quoted Iranian officials who claim the ceasefire was approved by the country’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
In Iran, state media claim that US President Trump has “accepted Iran’s conditions to end the war” and describe a “humiliating retreat from anti-Iran rhetoric.”
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council says it has accepted a two-week ceasefire in the war, according to a report from the Associated Press.
Meanwhile, US broadcaster CNN has cited a senior White House official as saying: “Israel has agreed to also suspend its bombing campaign while negotiations continue.”
In Israel itself, public broadcaster Kan also reports that Israel is “committed” to a ceasefire.
Trump to suspend US attacks on Iran for two weeks subject to Strait of Hormuz opening
US President Donald Trump agreed to suspend attacks on Iran for two weeks, subject to Tehran reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
The announcement came less than two hours before a deadline he set that he claimed would have seen the death of “a whole civilization.”
In a message on social media, Trump wrote that, following conversations with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, he “[agreed] to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks.”
He said this was “subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz.”
He added that Iran had submitted a ten-point proposal that he said he believes is “a workable basis on which to negotiate.”
He claimed that agreement had already been reached on “almost all of the various points of past contention,” but didn’t elaborate.
DW.com/NAN 8 April 26
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