U.S. President Donald Trump has announced his willingness to suspend strikes on Iran for two weeks. He stated that the condition for this is the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Donald Trump wrote about this on the social media platform Truth Social.
The statement says that Trump agreed to postpone strikes on Iran for two weeks in exchange for the “full, immediate, and secure” opening of the Strait of Hormuz. According to him, this is a bilateral ceasefire, and the decision was made following a request from Pakistan.
“The reason is that we have already achieved and exceeded all military objectives and are very close to concluding a final agreement on long-term peace with Iran and peace in the Middle East,” Trump wrote.
He also noted that Iran’s 10-point proposal is a “working basis for negotiations,” and “almost all contentious issues” have already been resolved. According to the U.S. president, the two-week ceasefire will allow the agreement to be finalized, and “this long-standing problem is nearing a solution.”
According to CNN, citing a White House official, Israel is also participating in the two-week suspension of strikes against Iran.
Iran has agreed to the ceasefire. A statement on behalf of Iran’s National Security Council, released by Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi, states that if attacks against the country cease, its military will also halt its operations.
“For two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible in coordination with the Iranian armed forces and subject to technical limitations,” the statement said.
The Tasnim agency published an expanded version of the statement, in which Iran claims to have achieved all its military objectives, “secured a major victory, and forced criminal America to accept its 10-point plan.”
“Evil global Zionism has convinced the uneducated American president that this war will destroy Iran. Iran and the resistance forces have virtually completely destroyed the American military machine in the region, dealt devastating and deep blows to the infrastructure and facilities that the enemy had built and deployed in the region over many years for this war, and inflicted significant losses on the criminal American army. “And about 10 days after the war began, the enemy realized that it could not possibly win this war, began trying to contact Iran through various channels, and asked for a ceasefire,” the statement reads.
It is also reported that negotiations between the U.S. and Iran are set to begin in Islamabad on April 10. They will last two weeks, with the possibility of extension by mutual agreement.
As a reminder, on the night of March 22, Trump first threatened strikes against Iran’s energy sector over the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, giving 48 hours to comply with the demands. On March 23, he instructed the Pentagon to postpone the strikes for five days, citing “successful and productive” negotiations, which Iran denied.
On March 26, Trump extended the ultimatum until April 6. On April 4, he stated that Iran had 48 hours left “before real hell breaks loose,” and on April 7, he added that “an entire civilization will be wiped out tonight.”
In response, Iran threatened to strike U.S. energy, IT, and desalination infrastructure in the region.