Donald Trump and Iran have reached a major agreement, stepping back from the brink of what the U.S. president himself warned could be a civilization-ending night. The two sides announced a significant shift in their weeks-long conflict after Trump issued one of his most alarming threats yet.
Donald Trump and Iran agree to two-week ceasefire
U.S. President Donald Trump has agreed to suspend planned attacks on Iran for two weeks, stepping back from earlier threats, according to PBS News and Al Jazeera.
Trump posted his decision on Truth Social at 6:32 pm Eastern time, crediting Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir for mediating the agreement. The ceasefire is conditional on Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas transits.
Earlier Tuesday, Trump had warned: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” He had previously threatened to destroy Iranian bridges, power plants, and other civilian infrastructure. Legal experts, Pope Leo XIV, and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot each said such strikes would constitute war crimes.
Iran’s Foreign Affairs Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed the tentative agreement shortly after Trump’s post. “If attacks against Iran are halted, our Powerful Armed Forces will cease their defensive operations,” Araghchi wrote. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council indicated the ceasefire could extend beyond two weeks if negotiations proceed favourably.
Trump cited receipt of a 10-point Iranian peace proposal as a basis for the pause. “Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran,” Trump wrote. Further talks are expected to take place in Islamabad over the coming weeks.
The U.S. and Israel launched their offensive against Iran on February 28. Since then, the war has killed nearly 2,076 people in Iran, 28 in neighbouring Gulf states, 26 in Israel, and 13 U.S. service members. Iran has blockaded the Strait of Hormuz since the war began, driving global fuel prices sharply higher. Trump has extended deadlines on multiple occasions, previously delaying planned attacks on March 23 and March 26.
Originally reported by Vritti Johar on Mandatory.com.
