File image.
United States President Donald Trump announced early on April 8 that he is pushing off a major bombing campaign in Iran for two weeks and that Washington has agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Tehran, subject to the latter reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
“Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and 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 Truth Social, less than two hours before his 8 p.m. eastern time deadline for Iran to reopen Hormuz and agree to a U.S. proposal for ending the war was set to expire.
“This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE! The reason for doing so is that we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East,” Trump writes
Following Trump’s announcement, The New York Times quoted three Iranian officials as saying that Tehran has accepted Pakistan’s proposal for a two-week ceasefire.
The report said that alongside Pakistan’s push for a ceasefire, China intervened at the last minute “to show flexibility and defuse tensions,” while also noting concerns about the economic fallout if Trump went ahead with his threats of U.S. strikes on Iranian energy sites and key infrastructure.
The Iranian officials cited in the report also said that new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei had signed off on the ceasefire.
This was officially confirmed soon after in a statement issued by Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on behalf of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
“For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations,” the statement adds.
Separately, Iranian state media quoted the Supreme National Security Council confirming that talks with the U.S. will begin on April 9 in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, adding that the negotiations do not signal the end of the war.
Iran said that the talks, which may last up to 15 days and can be extended by agreement, aim to finalize details of its 10-point proposal, which includes provisions on transit through the Strait of Hormuz, sanctions relief, and withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from regional bases.
According to Iranian state media, the 10-point plan would also require Washington to accept its uranium enrichment program.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also announced that in addition to Tehran and Washington “their allies” agreed to “an immediate ceasefire everywhere including Lebanon and elsewhere.”
Nevertheless, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement welcoming the ceasefire between the U.S.and Iran, while stressing that it does not cover Lebanon.
In addition, a report by AFP confirmed that the two-week ceasefire plan includes allowing both Iran and Oman to charge fees on ships transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. A regional official told the news agency that the Islamic Republic will use the money it raises for reconstruction.
Trump later told AFP that Iran’s uranium will be “perfectly taken care of” under a two-week ceasefire deal with Tehran, without providing any details.
“That will be perfectly taken care of or I wouldn’t have settled,” Trump said in a telephone interview when asked about what would happen to Iran’s enriched uranium.
Amid all of these developments, it was reported that the U.S. military halted operations against Iran. However, missiles were launched from the Islamic Republic at Israel, wounding at least two people in the south of the country. Israeli strikes also hit Iranian targets, in addition to targets of Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, there were reports of more attacks on Gulf countries, specifically Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
The U.S. accepting to discuss Iran’s 10-point plan is without any doubt a major victory for the Islamic Republic, which could also use the two-week ceasefire to prepare for a possible return to fighting.
That’s being said, multiple reports indicate that Israel is not happy with the deal, and it is possible that it will attempt to sabotage it.
Trump has shown willingness to back down from such deals before, but the situation with Iran may be too complex to allow for this. The U.S. took some serious losses and any return to fighting will likely require a serious escalation, like ground operations.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com
islamic republic of israel! oh that is great one!
newking israel!
these videos are from occupied palestine. so called “israel”.
satanyahoo not happy? that is good.
but but but but but trumpstein said the straight of hormmuz does not matter to the ussa……baaaaaaahahahahahahah!!!