The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire late on Tuesday, barely an hour before US President Donald Trump’s deadline for Iran to capitulate was set to expire.
Trump pulled back on earlier apocalyptic threats that a “whole civilisation will die” if Tehran failed to reach a deal, holding off on attacks on Iranian bridges and power plants, a war crime against sites that are primarily of civilian usage.
“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 wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said it has accepted the ceasefire and that it would negotiate with the United States in Islamabad beginning Friday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be allowed under Iranian military management. It wasn’t immediately clear whether that meant Iran would completely loosen its chokehold on the waterway.
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.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it had agreed to the ceasefire but added it ‘did not include Lebanon’. According to the prime minister of Pakistan, which has been mediating talks, the ceasefire calls for Israel and Hezbollah to halt fighting in Lebanon.
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 to end the war, but he later called it fraudulent, without elaborating. Trump has said ending Iran’s nuclear programme entirely was a key point of the war.
Iran and Oman to collect shipping fees in Strait of Hormuz
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.
Oil prices plunged by more than 17% after the ceasefire announcement. Costs at the pump had risen sharply since the war for ordinary Americans, putting heavy political pressure on Trump. Stock prices also soared in early trade Wednesday in Asia.
The US and Israel have battered Iran with attacks targeting its military capabilities, leadership and nuclear programme. Iran has responded with a stream of strikes on Israel and Gulf Arab neighbours, causing regional chaos and outsized economic and political shock.
Strikes continue unabated
Before Trump’s deadline, airstrikes hit two bridges and a train station, and the U.S. hit military infrastructure on Kharg Island, a key hub for Iranian oil production.
Even as the ceasefire was announced, missile alerts continued in the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait early Wednesday, hinting at the chaos surrounding the diplomatic moves. A gas processing facility in Abu Dhabi was ablaze after incoming Iranian fire, officials said.
Israel was continuing its attacks on Iran, said an Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations. Iran also kept up fire on Israel.
The US military has halted all offensive operations against Iran but continues defensive actions, said an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive military operations.
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.