Iran and USA agree to two-week ceasefire

Trump says he agrees to suspend bombing and attack of Iran for 2 weeks

WASHINGTON | Xinhua |  U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he has agreed to “suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks.”

Trump wrote on social media that his decision is “subject to” Iran agreeing to the complete, immediate and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz.

“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 said.

“We received a 10 point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate,” he said.

Trump described the two-week suspension as “a double sided ceasefire.”

The ceasefire proposal was delivered by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, aiming to give time for peace talks with Iran.

Earlier on Tuesday, Sharif called on Trump in a post on X to extend the deadline Trump set for Iran to reach a deal by two weeks, and also requested Iran “to open Strait of Hormuz for a corresponding period of two weeks as a goodwill gesture.”

Trump threatened on Tuesday morning that Iran’s “whole civilization will die tonight” at 8:00 pm ET, the deadline he set for Iran to make a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

He told a press conference on Monday that according to a U.S. plan, “every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o’clock tomorrow night,” and “every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again.”

U.S. officials, cited by U.S. media outlets, said American forces struck military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island overnight, with oil facilities spared in the country’s crucial oil export hub.

Multiple railway lines across Iran were also struck on Tuesday, according to reports reaching here.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi promised safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz during the two-week ceasefire under “coordination” with Iranian armed forces, saying Iran will cease “defensive operations” if attacks against it stop.

He also said Iran would hold negotiations with the U.S. in Islamabad, stressing that the temporary ceasefire does not mean an end to war, pending negotiations on details of its 10-point plan. ■