President Trump gave a new deadline to the Iranian authorities after promising to erase a “whole civilization”.
This new deadline came amid diplomatic intervention by Pakistan to avert an imminent military escalation, as both sides signal progress toward a broader agreement.Trump announced Tuesday evening that he has agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, stepping back from a self-imposed deadline that had threatened massive U.S. strikes against Iranian power plants and bridges.
The announcement came less than two hours before the 8 p.m. ET deadline Trump had set over the weekend, during which he demanded Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz — a critical waterway through which roughly one-fifth of global oil shipments pass — or face devastating military action. Trump posted the ceasefire announcement on Truth Social, stating that the pause was agreed to at Pakistan’s request. He conditioned the agreement on Iran immediately and fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The diplomatic breakthrough followed days of intense back-channel negotiations involving the United States, Iran, and third-party mediators, including Pakistan. Trump had ratcheted up his rhetoric sharply in the hours before the announcement; earlier Tuesday, he posted that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” according to his Truth Social account. Despite the pause, no formal long-term agreement between the two nations has been reached. Trump indicated that Iran submitted a 10-point peace proposal that he described as a viable starting point for negotiations. That came after Iran had rejected a 15-point American proposal the previous day. Trump wrote that the two sides have resolved most outstanding issues and that the two-week window would allow negotiators to finalize a comprehensive agreement. The ceasefire averts what would have been a significant military escalation with broad implications for global energy markets, regional stability, and immigrant communities with ties to the Middle East and surrounding regions.
Source: CBS News
