President Donald Trump pulled back from his threat to annihilate Iran on Tuesday after the two countries agreed to a two-week ceasefire, though negotiations would continue on how to end the war.
“Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and 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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The president claimed to have received a new 10-point proposal from Iran, which he characterized as a “workable basis on which” the two countries can continue negotiations.
“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 said. “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.”
Iran said it would allow safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz with the coordination of its armed forces during the two-week ceasefire, and Iran and Oman will both charge tolls from ships moving through the waterway. All U.S. offensive military operations have been halted, a U.S. official told the Washington Examiner.
Sharif announced on social media that the United States and Iran negotiating teams will next meet on Friday for another round of peace talks. “I warmly welcome the sagacious gesture and extend deepest gratitude to the leadership of both the countries and invite their delegations to Islamabad on Friday, 10th April 2026, to further negotiate for a conclusive agreement to settle all disputes,” he posted on X.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council claimed the U.S. had suffered “an undeniable, historic, and crushing defeat” in accepting the 10-point plan.
“In this plan, America fundamentally commits to guaranteeing non-aggression, continuing Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz, accepting enrichment, lifting all primary and secondary sanctions,” the council said in a statement. “Ending all Security Council and Board of Governors resolutions, paying compensation to Iran, withdrawing US combat forces from the region, and stopping the war on all fronts, including against the heroic Islamic resistance of Lebanon.”
White House officials did not immediately answer questions about reports that Iran launched new strikes aimed at Tel Aviv shortly after Trump’s announcement, even though both Iran and Israel had reportedly also agreed to the ceasefire time frame. The New York Times reported Tuesday that China assisted Pakistan in advancing the negotiations.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt additionally declined to outline the 10 points included in Iran’s proposal, telling the Washington Examiner that “President Trump’s words speak for themselves.”
“This is a workable basis to negotiate, and those negotiations will continue,” she said Tuesday night. “The truth is that President Trump and our powerful military got Iran to agree to reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and negotiations will continue.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Iran’s “whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if Tehran refused to make a deal. The president had already given Iran until 8 p.m. on Tuesday to make a deal or the U.S. would bomb its energy grid and other vital infrastructure.
“I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” he said. “However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?”
But hours before the deadline, Sharif asked Trump to “extend the deadline for two weeks” for continued peace talks.
“Pakistan, in all sincerity, requests the Iranian brothers to open Strait of Hormuz for a corresponding period of two weeks as a goodwill gesture,” Sharif also wrote on X.
Tehran initially responded to Trump’s threats of civilizational erasure by alerting America’s Middle Eastern intermediaries that they were closing off communications with Washington. Although there are competing reports that negotiations were still ongoing even after Trump’s social media post.
“Iran will not stand idle in the face of such egregious war crimes,” said Iran’s envoy to the United Nations, Amir-Saeid Iravani, during a Security Council session on the Strait of Hormuz. “It will exercise, without hesitation, its inherent right of self-defense and will take immediate and proportionate reciprocal measures.”
Even before Trump’s 8 p.m. deadline, the U.S. escalated its attacks on Iran, launching a new wave of some 90 strikes against targets on Kharg Island in the Strait of Hormuz overnight into Tuesday morning.
WHAT COULD TRUMP’S THREAT TO DESTROY IRAN’S ‘WHOLE CIVILIZATION’ ENTAIL?
The U.S. had not targeted Kharg since March 13, when the Trump administration claimed it had wiped out Iran’s military facilities, most specifically its aquatic mine depots and fleet of minelaying ships. It remains unclear what specifically the U.S. struck Tuesday morning, as U.S. officials maintained that targets did not include any of the oil infrastructure.
Trump’s Tuesday announcement marks the fifth time the president has extended the negotiating window with Iran. On March 21, he issued a 48-hour ultimatum for Tehran to open the Strait of Hormuz. Trump added five days to that time frame on March 23 before extending it 10 days to April 6 on March 26 and eventually settling on April 7 at 8 p.m. this past weekend.
