US President Donald Trump announced a “double-sided ceasefire” between the US and Iran in a post on Truth Social early on Wednesday, stating that Operation Epic Fury will be suspended for two weeks so an agreement regarding the ceasefire can be finalized.
Israel also agreed to the temporary ceasefire and will suspend attacks on Iran as negotiations proceed, a senior White House official told CNN shortly after the announcement was made.
Trump stated that Iran had submitted a 10-point proposal for ending the ongoing war, providing a "workable basis on which to negotiate." He asserted that "almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, adding that "a two-week period will allow the agreement to be finalized and consummated."
He additionally claimed that his reasoning for accepting the ceasefire proposal was due to the US having "already met and exceeded all Military objectives" in the region.
According to a New York Times report citing two US officials, Trump made a phone call to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shortly before issuing the announcement.
Netanyahu expressed support for the ceasefire deal, provided Iran immediately reopens the Strait of Hormuz and stops all attacks on Israel and countries in the region, in a statement released after the announcement.
He added that Israel supports the US effort "to ensure that Iran no longer poses a nuclear, missile, and terror threat to America, Israel, Iran's Arab neighbors, and the world."
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who proposed the two-week ceasefire, announced on X/Twitter that the ceasefire will immediately be implemented and will include Lebanon and other nations in the region.
The claim that Lebanon is included in the deal, however, was disputed by Netanyahu, who explicitly stated that the deal does not include Lebanon.
Sharif also stated that negotiations regarding the agreement will be held on Friday in Islamabad, Pakistan.
In a statement on X/Twitter regarding the ceasefire, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that Iran will cease "defensive operations" if all attacks are halted.
Araghchi also assured that for the two weeks, "safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran's Armed Forces."
Despite the ceasefire announcement, Iran continued to launch a series of missile barrages towards Israel and Gulf nations on Wednesday night.
A US defense official told Axios that while the ceasefire is in effect, it may take time for the order to halt strikes to filter down to the lower ranks of Iran's military.
Pakistan urged two-week ceasefire
The ceasefire announcement came following an earlier Pakistani request for Trump to add a two-week extension to a deadline he imposed on Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The deadline was originally set for 8 p.m. EST on Tuesday.
Sharif urged both the Iranian leadership and Trump to implement a two-week ceasefire “to allow diplomacy to achieve conclusive termination of war” in a post on X/Twitter on Tuesday.
“Diplomatic efforts for peaceful settlement of the ongoing war in the Middle East are progressing steadily, strongly, and powerfully with the potential to lead to substantive results in the near future,” Sharif asserted.
Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, praised Pakistan’s ceasefire-seeking efforts, stating that a step forward in this “critical, sensitive stage” has occurred in a post on X/Twitter.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held a call with Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Muhammad Ishaq Dar, to coordinate joint efforts to help the US and Iran “reach understandings,” according to Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Dar and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan additionally held a call to discuss the diplomatic efforts, according to a Reuters report citing Turkish foreign ministry sources.
'A whole civilization will die tonight,' Trump threatens
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump threatened that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if no deal is reached by the deadline.
He asserted that on Tuesday night, “one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the world” will occur and that “47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end.”
Reuters, Corinne Baum, and Aaron Glick contributed to this report.
