Just hours after US President Donald Trump threatened to wipe out an entire civilisation, indirectly pointing to Iran, the two nations announced a two-week ceasefire, also agreed to by Israel, leading to a temporary halt to hostilities and enabling passage of cargo ships through the troubled Strait of Hormuz.
Iran reacted to the development positively but claimed a near-total victory, as uncertainty loomed over Trump’s military objectives that remained unmet.
On Tuesday (April 7, 2026), Trump’s remarks on eliminating a “whole civilisation” had indicated a hardening of stance against Iran and massive aggression on Iranian infrastructure.
Hours later, both the US and Iran announced the ceasefire, apparently brokered by Pakistan, with able assistance from both China and Russia, which had vetoed a UNSC resolution on the forceful opening of the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, with no indication of the US and Iran agreeing to peace.
Trump seemed to have blinked first, as the White House announced on X that the US President had agreed to suspend the “destructive force” he was sending to Iran.
The White House tweet came at 4:17 am IST, when it said the ceasefire agreement came at the behest of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army chief Asim Munir, who requested Trump to hold off the impending military strikes on Iran.
“…subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the complete, immediate, and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,” the White House quoted Trump in the X post.
“This will be a 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 long-term peace with Iran, and peace in the Middle East (West Asia,” the post read.
Both the US and Iran agreed to discuss the 15-point and 10-point proposals from their respective sides, which the White House claimed it believed “is a workable basis on which to negotiate.”
The announcement from Washington said the two sides had an agreement on “almost all the various points of past contention” and a two-week ceasefire “will allow the agreement to be finalized and consummated.”
Iran responded to the White House 24 minutes later through an X post by its Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on behalf of the Supreme National Security Council.
“If attacks against Iran are halted, our Powerful Armed Forces will cease their defensive operations. 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,” Araghchi posted.
He too acknowledged the “tireless efforts of Sharif and Munir to end the war in West Asia, and noted that the ceasefire was accepted in response to their requests.
Araghchi’s post also mentioned that the US and Iran agreed to their respective 15-point and 10-point general framework for negotiations.
The Iranian Supreme National Security Council, in a statement, rubbed into both the American and Israeli noses: “Good news to the dear nation of Iran! Nearly all the objectives of the war have been achieved. The enemy has been begging for a ceasefire for over a month.”
It said Iran had deliberately prolonged the war past multiple American deadlines to which it “attaches no importance to” until Tehran judged its battlefield objectives met after bringing the US to “historic helplessness and lasting defeat.”
Nearly four hours later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office posted: “Israel supports President Trump’s decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks, subject to Iran immediately opening the straits and stopping all attacks on the US, Israel, and countries in the region.”
Netanyahu’s office also posted on X that Israel supported 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.
It noted that Washington informed Israel of its commitment to achieving these goals, shared by the US, Israel, and Israel’s regional allies, in the upcoming negotiations.
A key clarification from Tel Aviv said: “The two-week ceasefire does not include Lebanon.” This meant that Israel would continue to target Lebanon-based Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group.
The two-week ceasefire, though temporary, would bring a lot of respite to West Asia, which had witnessed a 37-day conflict, resulting in disruption in the oil and gas markets globally.