President Trump said Tuesday that he would “suspend” an escalation of attacks on Iran for two weeks as long as Iran agrees to open the Strait of Hormuz.
In a Truth Social post less than two hours before his 8 p.m. EDT deadline for Iran to make a deal to open the strait, the president said conversations with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir led to the “double sided CEASEFIRE.”
“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,” he wrote.
Trump said a 10-point proposal was also received from Iran that is a “workable basis on which to negotiate.”
“Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated,” he wrote. “On behalf of the United States of America, as President, and also representing the Countries of the Middle East, it is an Honor to have this Longterm problem close to resolution.”
Iranian foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi shared a statement on behalf of the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran that expressed “gratitude and appreciation” to the Pakistani officials who helped negotiate the ceasefire.
“If attacks against Iran are halted, our Powerful Armed Forces will cease their defensive operations,” the statement said. “For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations.”
A White House official said Israel has also agreed to the two-week ceasefire.
This comes after Sharif earlier Tuesday asked Trump to extend the deadline because diplomatic efforts were ongoing, and the White House said Trump was reviewing it.
Sharif said in a statement on the social platform X on Tuesday that “Lebanon and elsewhere” is also included in the two-week ceasefire.
He invited leaders from the U.S. and Iran to Islamabad to continue negotiations “for a conclusive agreement to settle all disputes.”
“Both parties have displayed remarkable wisdom and understanding and have remained constructively engaged in furthering the cause of peace and stability. We earnestly hope, that the ‘Islamabad Talks’ succeed in achieving sustainable peace and wish to share more good news in coming days!” Sharif wrote.
The White House said nothing has been decided yet about attending in-person talks.
“There are discussions about in person talks, but nothing is final until announced by the President or the White House,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Trump threatened Tuesday morning that “a whole civilization will die tonight never to be brought back again” unless “something revolutionary wonderful” occurs to get a deal agreed upon by the US and Iran.
The president said Monday that the reopening of the strait is a “very big priority” after another ceasefire proposal was submitted to the U.S. but was shot down.
The closure of the strait has destabilized oil supplies and sent prices skyrocketing since the war began over five weeks ago. Iran has only let a few ships through for a fee, and, Trump has said, as a gift to the U.S. to show they were serious about negotiations.
A Bahrain-led resolution that aimed to reopen the strait failed at the United Nations on Tuesday.
A dozen countries — Bahrain, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, France, Greece, Latvia, Liberia, Panama, Somalia, United Kingdom and the U.S. — voted in favor of the resolution, but vetoes by Russia and China tanked it. Colombia and Pakistan abstained.
Trump told reporters at a news conference Monday that if Iran did not come to the US with a deal, then the country’s infrastructure, bridges and power plants would be “decimated” by midnight.
Still, he maintained that the country was negotiating in what he hoped was “good faith.”
The threat of the attacks on Iran’s infrastructure raised questions of war crimes and led to a long list of Democratic lawmakers calling for the 25th Amendment to be invoked and Trump to be removed from office.
Some Republicans, too, broke with Trump after he threatened to destroy Iran.
Texas GOP Rep. Nathaniel Moran condemned Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization.
“I do not support the destruction of a ‘whole civilization.’ That is not who we are, and it is not consistent with the principles that have long guided America,” Moran said Tuesday on X.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) wrote on X that Trump’s threat “cannot be excused away as an attempt to gain leverage in negotiations with Iran.”
“This type of rhetoric is an affront to the ideals our nation has sought to uphold and promote around the world for nearly 250 years,” she said.
