• Pakistan leadership urged restraint ahead of planned strikes.
• Iran reopening Hormuz key condition for ceasefire.
• Two-week window aimed at finalising comprehensive peace deal.

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he had agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, less than two hours before his deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, after discussions with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Asim Munir.

Trump’s announcement represented an abrupt turnaround from earlier in the day, when he issued an extraordinary warning that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if his demands were not met. The US president had set an 8pm ET deadline for April 8.

In a statement posted on social media, Trump said the decision was contingent upon Iran agreeing to the “complete, immediate, and safe opening” of the Strait of Hormuz, describing the arrangement as a “double-sided ceasefire”.

“This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “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.”

Trump further revealed that Washington had received a 10-point proposal from Tehran, which he described as a “workable basis” for negotiations, adding that most longstanding points of contention between the two sides had already been addressed.

He said the two-week pause would provide an opportunity to finalise and formalise a comprehensive agreement aimed at ending hostilities.

Calling the development a step towards resolving a longstanding conflict, Trump said it was an “honour” to bring the issue close to resolution on behalf of the United States and the wider Middle East region.

Meanwhile, Iranian state TV flashed an announcement claiming that Trump had accepted Iran’s terms for ending the war, describing it as a “humiliating retreat” by the US president.

Two White House officials confirmed that Israel has also agreed to the two-week ceasefire and to suspend its bombing campaign on Iran.

His announcement comes hours after PM Shehbaz posted on X, saying that diplomatic efforts for peaceful settlement of the ongoing war in the Middle East were “progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully with the potential to lead to substantive results in the near future.”

“To allow diplomacy to run its course, I earnestly request President Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks.”

He also requested Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz for a corresponding period of two weeks. “Pakistan, in all sincerity, requests the Iranian brothers to open the Strait of Hormuz for a corresponding period of two weeks as a goodwill gesture.

“We also urge all warring parties to observe a ceasefire everywhere for two weeks to allow diplomacy to achieve conclusive termination of war, in the interest of long-term peace and stability in the region,” he added.

Talks in Islamabad

Meanwhile, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has also confirmed the two-week ceasefire, saying that Pakistan’s prime minister has informed that the US has accepted Iran’s 10-point plan as the basis for negotiations.

“Accordingly, it was decided at the highest level that Iran will hold negotiations with the American side in Islamabad for two weeks and solely on the basis of these principles. This time can be extended by agreement of the parties,” the council said in a statement.

“It is emphasised that this does not mean an end to the war and Iran will accept an end to the war only when — in view of Iran’s acceptance of the principles envisaged in the 10-point plan — its details are also finalised in the negotiations,” it added.

The council added that if the “surrender of the enemy in the field becomes a decisive political achievement in the negotiations, we will celebrate this great historical victory together.”

“Our hands are on the trigger, and as soon as the slightest mistake by the enemy is made, it will be responded to with full force,” it concluded.

Separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that a safe passage through the Hormuz Strait is possible for two weeks via coordination with armed forces.

He has shared a statement on behalf of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council declaring that “if attacks against Iran are halted, our Powerful Armed Forces will cease their defensive operations”.

Abrupt turnaround

The abrupt turnaround capped a whirlwind day that was dominated by Trump’s threat to destroy every bridge and power plant in Iran unless Tehran reopened the strait, which unnerved world leaders, rattled global financial and energy markets and drew widespread condemnation, including criticism from the head of the United Nations and Pope Leo.

As the clock ticked down to Trump’s 8pm ET deadline, US and Israeli strikes on Iran intensified, hitting railway and road bridges, an airport and a petrochemical plant. US forces attacked targets on Kharg Island, home to Iran’s main oil export terminal.

In response, Iran declared it would no longer hold back from hitting its Gulf neighbours’ infrastructure and said it had carried out fresh strikes on a ship in the Gulf and a huge Saudi petrochemical complex. Booms were heard in Doha late on Tuesday night, according to a Reuters witness in the Qatari capital.

The war, now in its sixth week, has claimed more than 5,000 lives in nearly a dozen countries, including more than 1,600 civilians in Iran, according to tallies from government sources and human rights groups.

The closure of the strait, through which almost a fifth of the world’s oil supply typically travels, has sharply increased oil prices, escalating the chances of a global economic downturn or even recession.

With the US midterm election campaign ramping up, Trump’s approval ratings have hit their lowest level ever, leaving his Republican Party at risk of losing its grip on Congress. Polls show sizable majorities of Americans opposed to the war and frustrated by the rising cost of gasoline.

A senior advisor to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution warns that the US will “burn in a greater inferno” in the event of any reckless move against Iran.

Iran’s crushing retaliatory strikes have created “dark days” for the United States, forcing US generals and the international community to pressure Washington into a retreat, Mohsen Rezaei wrote in a message on X.

Rezaei, also a member of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council, said that Iran’s Armed Forces have dealt such heavy blows to the enemy that US military leaders and world governments and nations are now pushing Donald Trump to end the aggression against Iran.

However, Rezaei noted that Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has forced Trump into a “political suicide” by prolonging this illegal war.

“Any reckless move by Washington will only see the United States burn in a greater regional inferno,” Rezaei, a former IRGC chief commander, said.

Since the US and Israel launched their war of aggression against Iran on February 28, Iranian ballistic missiles and drones have repeatedly hit US facilities in the Persian Gulf countries and the Israeli-occupied territories.

Meanwhile, US troops are reporting overwhelming stress and disillusionment, with many considering leaving the military, according to reports.

Some US troops have reportedly told their veteran mentors that they “do not want to die for Israel.”

Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Tuesday that called for states to coordinate efforts to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

The draft resolution, prepared by Bahrain and supported by the United States, received 11 votes in favor, two against and two abstentions – Pakistan and Colombia.

The text was already diluted from the initial goal of obtaining clearance to “unblock” the strait by force.

The latest draft “strongly encourages states… to coordinate efforts, defensive in nature, commensurate to the circumstances, to contribute to ensuring the safety and security of navigation, including through the escort of merchant and commercial vessels.”

It also “demands” that Iran “immediately cease all attacks against merchant and commercial vessels and any attempt to impede transit passage or freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”

The critical waterway has been nearly blocked since the United States and Israel launched their war of aggression on February 28, sending ripple effects throughout the global economy.

Iran says it has not blocked the strait but imposed restrictions due to the security conditions created in the wake of the war on the country.

Tehran says all vessels must coordinate with it before trying to pass the waterway, which lies within its territorial waters.

It says it will not allow ships affiliated with the aggressors and their supporters to pass through the strait.

The Iranian Parliament has recently been discussing legislation to create a new legal regime for the strait to charge fees for safe transit through the strait.