The United States and Iran have agreed to a two-week ceasefire following last-minute diplomatic efforts led by Pakistan, halting a looming escalation after US President Donald Trump had warned Tehran to surrender or face large-scale military attacks.
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Trump announced the agreement on Tuesday evening, less than two hours before a self-imposed 8pm Eastern Time deadline he had set for potential US strikes on Iranian power plants and bridges. Legal experts, officials from several countries and the Pope had cautioned that such attacks on civilian infrastructure could constitute war crimes.
Earlier in the day, Trump had posted on the social media platform Truth Social warning that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again”, adding that he did not want that outcome but believed it was likely. Reports indicated that B-52 bombers were already heading toward Iran before the ceasefire was confirmed.
Pakistan mediation
According to Trump, the ceasefire was brokered after intervention by Pakistan’s government. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had requested a two-week pause in hostilities to allow diplomatic negotiations to continue.
In a statement on social media, Trump said he would suspend bombing operations “subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz”.
He added that the pause in fighting would provide time for both sides to negotiate around a 10-point proposal presented by Tehran that could lead to a more permanent armistice.
“This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE,” Trump wrote, saying US military objectives had already been met and that progress was being made toward a broader agreement aimed at long-term peace in the Middle East.
Iran confirms agreement
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, confirmed shortly afterwards that Tehran had accepted the temporary ceasefire.
In a statement, he said safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be permitted during the two-week period, coordinated with Iran’s armed forces.
The strait is one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes, carrying about a fifth of global oil supplies. Shipping traffic there had slowed significantly during the five-week conflict as tensions escalated.
Axios reported, citing an Israeli official, that Israel would also observe the ceasefire once Iran lifted its blockade of the waterway.
Escalation before the truce
Before the agreement was announced, tensions had continued to rise.
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir-Saeid Iravani, told a UN Security Council session that Trump’s threats amounted to “incitement to war crimes – and potentially genocide”. He warned that Iran would exercise its right to self-defence if attacks continued.
The United Nations secretary-general, António Guterres, also reiterated that international law prohibits attacks on civilian infrastructure. Trump, however, said earlier he was “not at all” concerned about accusations that such actions could amount to war crimes.
In the hours leading up to the deadline, Israeli forces carried out strikes on Iranian infrastructure. Iranian state media reported that a railway bridge in the central city of Kashan was hit, killing two people. Other reported strikes targeted bridges near Karaj, Qom and Tabriz, while power outages were reported in Karaj after a substation and transmission lines were damaged.
The United States also launched attacks on around 50 military targets on Kharg Island, home to Iran’s main oil export terminal. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had retaliated by striking Saudi Arabia’s Jubail petrochemical complex following an earlier attack on an Iranian petrochemical facility.
The ceasefire pauses a conflict that has lasted five weeks, during which fighting intensified with little indication that Tehran would surrender or relinquish control over the Strait of Hormuz.
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Adapted by ASEAN Now. Source 8 April 2026
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