The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire late on Tuesday, suspending hostilities less than two hours before President Trump’s deadline for Iran to meet his demands or face what he called the destruction of “a whole civilisation.”
Why it matters: the agreement halts 39 days of US-Israeli strikes against Iran and could reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that carries one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply.
The deal
Under the terms, the US and Israel will suspend all bombing of Iran for two weeks. In return, Iran committed to reopening the Strait of Hormuz for safe commercial passage during the ceasefire period.
Trump announced the deal from the White House, saying a long-term peace agreement was “in progress.” Iran confirmed it would halt attacks if strikes against it stopped.
Pakistan’s role
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif brokered the agreement after acting as an intermediary between Tehran and Washington. Sharif said the ceasefire takes effect immediately and includes “Lebanon and elsewhere.”
He has invited US and Iranian delegations to Islamabad on Friday, 10 April, to “settle all disputes” through continued diplomatic talks.
Disputed scope
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it supports Trump’s decision to suspend strikes for two weeks but that the ceasefire does not include Lebanon. This directly contradicts Sharif’s statement.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed factions, announced it would suspend its operations across the region for two weeks following the ceasefire.
What preceded the deal
Trump had threatened to strike Iranian power plants and bridges if Tehran did not comply by his Tuesday evening deadline. Earlier in the day, he told reporters that “a whole civilisation will die tonight” if Iran failed to act.
The reversal came after what officials described as intense back-channel diplomacy facilitated by Pakistan’s military and civilian leadership.