Donald Trump, who had threatened to destroy the Islamic Republic at the end of his ultimatum, stated that the agreement reached was a “total and complete victory” for the United States.
United States and Iran have agreed to a two-week ceasefire in exchange for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, just over an hour before Donald Trump’s ultimatum expired. After over five weeks of Israeli-American strikes on Iran, Tehran announced on Wednesday, April 8 at dawn that talks would begin from Friday with Washington. They will take place in Pakistan, a mediator in the Middle East war.
“Following discussions with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Marshal Asim Munir of Pakistan, during which they asked me to suspend the military intervention planned tonight against Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran accepting the TOTAL, IMMEDIATE, and SECURE opening of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend bombings and attacks against Iran for a period of two weeks,” wrote the American president on his Truth Social platform.
The latest in a series of ultimatums issued by Donald Trump to Iran and repeatedly pushed back gave Tehran until 2 a.m. to open the strategic maritime passage, where a fifth of the world’s crude oil transited before the war. Later, Donald Trump judged that the agreement on Iran was a “total and complete victory,” adding that, according to him, China had encouraged Iran to negotiate.
“It will be a reciprocal ceasefire!” added Donald Trump, who said the United States “have already achieved and exceeded all [their] military objectives” since the start of the American-Israeli strikes on February 28. He also mentioned “very advanced” discussions towards a “long-term” peace agreement with Iran. Tehran submitted a ten-point proposal that “constitutes a viable basis for negotiation.” Iranian leaders confirmed that they agreed to reopen “for a period of two weeks” the Strait of Hormuz “if attacks on Iran cease,” wrote Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
“It has been decided at the highest level that Iran will engage, for a period of two weeks (…), in negotiations with the American side in Islamabad,” added Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. “It is clear that this does not mean the end of the war, and Iran will only accept the cessation of hostilities when” negotiations have concluded, he added, noting that these two weeks could be extended “in agreement with both parties.”
Meanwhile, Israel expressed support for Donald Trump’s decision to suspend strikes against Iran, but assured that the truce did not include Lebanon. This statement contradicts an earlier announcement by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, ensuring that the ceasefire applied “everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewhere.”
The announcement of an agreement between Washington and Tehran was extremely well received in the markets: oil prices quickly dropped by over 15%, falling below $100 (85 euros) per barrel, and the Tokyo and Seoul stock markets respectively soared by 4% and 6% at the opening.
/2026/04/08/69d645ce0c6f8531454039.jpg "War in the Middle East: Israel supports the American decision to suspend strikes against Iran, but claims that the ceasefire does not include Lebanon")
/2026/04/08/69d62223d9935815537850.jpg "Cease")
