After a month and a half of escalating conflict in the Middle East, the United States and Iran agreed on Tuesday to a two-week ceasefire. This was less than two hours before the deadline that President Donald Trump had promised would wipe out “an entire civilization.”
The threat, which critics warned could amount to a war crime if carried out, appears to have so far been thwarted at the 11th hour. However, rifts remain between the two countries, with both countries portraying the temporary truce as a victory for their countries.
The ceasefire is a starting point for further negotiations, and it remains to be seen what final terms will be included in the proposal to finally end the war that has upended the Middle East and sparked historic global oil turmoil.
Here’s what we know:
What did the US and Israel say?
President Trump announced the ceasefire in a post on Truth Social, saying it was conditional on Iran agreeing to reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil flows.
He said the ceasefire was brokered by Pakistan’s prime minister and military commanders. Trump added that Iran has put forward a 10-point proposal, which the United States views as a “viable basis for negotiations.”
He said he expected a final agreement could be reached within the next two weeks.
In an interview with AFP on Tuesday, President Trump described the deal as a “complete and utter victory.” But he did not say whether Tehran would follow through on its earlier threat to destroy Iranian civilian infrastructure if it broke the deal, saying only that “we’ll have to wait and see.”
And in a post on Truth Social just after midnight, he said the US would “help increase traffic in the Strait of Hormuz,” adding: “There will be a lot of money to be made.”
U.S. officials told CNN that the Trump administration is preparing for direct negotiations, possibly in Islamabad, and that Pakistan’s prime minister has invited both sides to send delegations.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that Israel is joining the cease-fire agreement and will also stop bombing Iran.
However, he also claimed that Lebanon was not part of the ceasefire agreement, contradicting the Pakistani prime minister who said it was. President Trump did not mention Lebanon in his statement.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, “If attacks on Iran stop, Iranian operations will also stop.”
The country’s military will coordinate safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz during the ceasefire, he added in a post on X.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Iran and Oman plan to charge tolls for ships passing through the strait during the ceasefire, with the funds to be used for reconstruction. CNN has contacted Oman’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.
Iran’s top security body, the Supreme Council for National Security, issued a more strident statement, saying it had forced the United States to accept the 10-point plan. The newspaper described the ceasefire as a “permanent defeat” for Washington.
He also mentioned the possibility of talks in Islamabad and warned that “if the enemy makes the slightest mistake, we will respond with all our might.”
Araghchi said in a statement that the United States had accepted the “broad outline” of Iran’s 10-point proposal as the “basis for negotiations,” but that Iran was now considering the 15-point proposal from the United States.
Full details of the US 15-point plan have not been made public, but it is believed to include a commitment to ban Iran’s nuclear weapons, hand over highly enriched uranium, limit Iran’s defense capabilities, end regional proxies and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Other issues on the table include recognition of Israel’s right to exist, two regional sources said.
Iran has so far rejected the 15-point plan, and one official on Monday called the demands “largely excessive, unrealistic and unreasonable,” even though President Trump claimed in late March that Iran had agreed to “most” of them.
Although the White House has not disclosed the details of Iran’s 10-point proposal, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has revealed key parts of the plan.
CNN obtained a statement from Iranian officials. This was also reported by several Iranian state media outlets.
This included regulating passage through the Strait of Hormuz. End attacks against Iran and its regional proxies. Withdrawal of US troops from the region. Reparations to Iran. Lifting international sanctions and unfreezing assets. and a binding UN resolution to secure a final peace agreement.
The Security Council statement, widely distributed in Farsi and English by Iranian state media, also said the United States had agreed in principle to accept Iran’s right to nuclear enrichment.
The Iranian embassy in India also posted a breakdown of 10 confirmed X accounts, including “acceptance of enrichment.”
CNN has reached out to U.S. officials and Iran’s Foreign Ministry for further comment.
Trump said in an interview with AFP that Iran’s uranium “will be completely disposed of, otherwise there would have been no settlement.”
