The United States and Iran reached an eleventh-hour ceasefire deal Tuesday evening, hours after President Donald Trump threatened to start wiping out Iran’s “whole civilization” if it did not allow commercial shipping to pass safely through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump announced the agreement in a post on social media hours after Pakistan, a mediator in the dispute, urged him to stand down from the 8 pm Eastern time deadline he had set for Iran to accede to his demands. Pakistan proposed that each side observe a two-week ceasefire, and that during that time, Iran allow oil, gas, and other vessels to proceed through the economically vital waterway.
Shortly after the ceasefire announcement, a U.S. official said American military strikes against Iran had stopped. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said in a statement that the Iranians would “cease their defensive operation,” and that “for a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible” if coordinated with Iran’s military.
Israel supports Trump’s decision to stop attacking Iran for two weeks, subject to the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the cessation of Iran attacks against the United States, Israel, and other countries in the region, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
But the statement said the ceasefire did not include Lebanon, contradicting an earlier statement from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan.
The ceasefire buys both sides time to try to reach a longer-term end to the war, which began at the end of February with the United States and Israel subjecting Iran to a withering military assault.
Iran accepted Pakistan’s ceasefire proposal after frantic diplomatic efforts by Pakistan and last-minute intervention by China, a key ally, according to three Iranian officials. Iran’s national security council officially confirmed the agreement, casting it as a victory in which the United States accepted Iran’s terms.
The ceasefire announcement sent Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, down to $93 a barrel. Asian stocks opened higher Wednesday morning, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining 4% and South Korea’s Kospi up more than 5%. Futures on the S&P 500 stock index, which give investors the chance to bet on the market before exchanges open on Wednesday, rose more than 2%.
Earlier, as the day wore on, it was not clear whether an off-ramp would emerge from the talks. It was not even clear if there were talks.
At one point, with Trump threatening devastating strikes on power plants, bridges, and other critical infrastructure — a possible war crime under international law — Iran stopped engaging in the indirect negotiations.
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” Trump warned earlier Tuesday, though he said he hoped “maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen.”
In the hours before the 8 p.m. deadline, the United States and Israel stepped up their attacks on Iran. All the while, the Pakistanis were reported to be redoubling their efforts to get a ceasefire.
Even so, countries around the Gulf — including Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Israel — reported missile and drone strikes in the immediate hours after the deal. It was not clear whether they had been launched in violation of the ceasefire or whether it might be taking time for new orders to filter down to Iranian forces.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency said at least 1,665 civilians, including 244 children, had been killed in Iran as of Monday. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Monday that more than 1,500 people had been killed in the latest fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. In attacks blamed on Iran, at least 32 people have been killed in Gulf nations.
In Israel, at least 20 people had been killed as of Monday. The U.S. death toll stands at 13 service members, with hundreds of others wounded.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
