U.S. President Donald Trump stepped back from threats of late Tuesday strikes on Iran as the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz, according to the AP. The shift came less than two hours before a deadline Trump had set for Tehran, and it was immediately followed by attacks early Wednesday in Israel, Iran and across the Gulf region despite the announcement. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said it had accepted the ceasefire and that it would begin negotiations with the United States in Pakistan starting Friday, though neither side said when the ceasefire would begin.
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly backed the U.S.-Iran ceasefire while drawing a clear boundary for Lebanon. Netanyahu said the deal does not cover fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and his office said Israel supported Trump’s decision to suspend strikes on the condition that Iran immediately open the Strait of Hormuz and stop attacks on U.S. Israel and other countries in the region. The Israeli statement also said Israel supports U.S. efforts to ensure Iran no longer poses a nuclear or missile threat.
The ceasefire’s scope in Lebanon was described by Pakistan’s prime minister as involving a halt to fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, reflecting Pakistan’s mediation role in the talks. That framing coexisted with Netanyahu’s separate assertion that Hezbollah operations would continue, underscoring uncertainty about how the ceasefire would be applied across different parts of the conflict.
The truce also left open questions about nuclear terms, including how a ten-point plan intended as a negotiation basis was being presented. AP reported that the ceasefire process was clouded after Iran released different versions of the plan: a version in Farsi included “acceptance of enrichment” for Iran’s nuclear program, while that phrase appeared to be missing from English versions shared by Iranian diplomats with journalists.
Trump’s move toward de-escalation built on Pakistan’s intervention. In a social media post Tuesday, he said he made the decision “based on conversations” with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Gen. Asim Munir, the powerful head of Pakistan’s army, and Sharif had urged Trump to extend his deadline by two weeks to allow diplomacy to advance. Sharif also used the same post to ask Iran to open the strait for two weeks, and Trump said in his posting that “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.”
Even as the ceasefire was announced, the region showed signs of continued military activity. Missile alerts continued in the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait early Wednesday, and officials said a gas processing facility in Abu Dhabi was ablaze after incoming Iranian fire. Israel was continuing attacks on Iran, an Israeli military official said on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, while Iran kept firing on Israel. The U.S. military also said it halted all offensive operations against Iran but continued defensive actions, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The agreement came after earlier U.S. warnings that alarmed international observers. In an online post Tuesday morning, Trump warned that “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” if no deal was reached, though he also floated an off-ramp by saying that “maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen.” Tehran’s U.N. representative, Amir-Saeid Iravani, said the threats “constitute incitement to war crimes and potentially genocide” and that Iran would “take immediate and proportionate reciprocal measures” if Trump launched devastating strikes.
There were also signs of domestic backlash inside Iran following the ceasefire announcement. Pro-government demonstrators in Tehran screamed “Death to America, death to Israel, death to compromisers!” and burned American and Israeli flags in the street, reflecting ongoing anger from hard-liners who had prepared for what many expected to be an apocalyptic battle.
The ceasefire plan included steps affecting maritime access and regional economics. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said passage through the strait would be allowed under Iranian military management, though it was not immediately clear whether that meant Iran would fully loosen its chokehold. A regional official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the plan would allow both Iran and Oman to charge fees on ships transiting through the strait and that Iran would use the money it raised for reconstruction.
The pause in hostilities did not resolve all key demands and conditions on both sides. The AP report said Iran’s demands included withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from the region, lifting sanctions and releasing its frozen assets. It also reported that Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium remains at enrichment sites, a program that had been among the main issues cited by Israel and the U.S. in launching the war.
Associated Press journalists reported that earlier before the deadline, airstrikes hit two bridges and a train station, and the U.S. struck military infrastructure on Kharg Island, a key hub for Iranian oil production. While AP said more than 1,900 people had been killed in Iran since the war began, the Iranian government had not updated the toll for days, and the report cited other death toll figures across Lebanon, Israel, and U.S. service members. At least one Israeli soldier had also died in Lebanon, and more than 1 million people were reported displaced there.