US President Donald Trump pulled back on his threats to launch devastating strikes on Iran late Tuesday, swerving to de-escalate the war less than two hours before the deadline he set for Tehran to capitulate to a deal. Trump said he was holding off on his threatened attacks on Iranian bridges and power plants, as the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire that includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council announced that it has accepted the ceasefire and will begin negotiations with the United States in Islamabad on Friday.
Neither Iran nor the United States said when the ceasefire would begin, and attacks took place in Israel, Iran, and across the Gulf region early Wednesday.
Israel has also agreed to the ceasefire, according to a White House official who was not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The ceasefire calls for Israel and Hezbollah to halt fighting in Lebanon, according to the prime minister of Pakistan, who has been mediating talks.
In the version of its 10-point ceasefire plan released in Farsi, Iran included the phrase “acceptance of enrichment” for its nuclear programme. But for reasons that remain unclear, that phrase was missing in English versions shared by Iranian diplomats to journalists.
Trump initially had said Iran proposed a “workable” 10-point plan that could help end the war launched by the US and Israel in February. But he later called it fraudulent, without elaborating. Trump has said ending Iran's nuclear program entirely was a key point of the war.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that passage through the strait would be permitted under Iranian military supervision. It wasn't immediately clear whether that meant Iran would completely loosen its chokehold on the waterway.
The plan allows for both Iran and Oman to charge fees on ships transiting through the strait, according to a regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss negotiations they were directly involved in. The official said Iran would use the money it raised for reconstruction.
In addition to control of the strait, Iran's demands for ending the war include withdrawal of US combat forces from the region, the lifting of sanctions and the release of its frozen assets.
Since the war began, Trump has repeatedly backed off deadlines just before they expire.
In doing so again on Tuesday, Trump said in a social media post he had come to the decision “based on conversations” with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Gen Asim Munir, Pakistan's powerful army chief.
Sharif, in a post on X hours earlier, urged Trump to extend his deadline by two weeks to allow diplomacy to advance. He used the same post to ask Iran to open the strait for two weeks.
“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 finalised and consummated,” Trump said.
There are concerns in Israel about the agreement, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to the media. The person said Israel would like to achieve more.
More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began, but the government has not updated the toll for days.
In Lebanon, where Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, more than 1,500 people have been killed. and more than 1 million people have been displaced. Eleven Israeli soldiers have died there. In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 23 have been reported dead in Israel, and 13 US service members have been killed.
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