Iran calls ceasefire a ‘victory’ as Trump pulls back from threat to destroy Iranian civilization

The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, following a last-minute diplomatic intervention by Pakistan that averted a significant escalation of the conflict that began on February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel launched joint military strikes against Iran targeting military and government sites.

President Donald Trump announced the suspension of United States military attacks on Iran in a post on his Truth Social social media platform less than two hours before a self-imposed 8 p.m. Eastern Time deadline he had set for Tehran to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face consequences. Earlier that day, Trump had issued a stark public warning that a whole civilization could die if no deal was reached before his deadline, a statement widely understood as threatening the destruction of Iranian civilian infrastructure including bridges, power plants, and petrochemical facilities. Legal scholars, United Nations officials, and members of the United States Congress had publicly warned that strikes of that nature against civilian infrastructure would risk violating international law.

Trump announced he agreed, subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the complete, immediate, and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz, to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks, describing the arrangement as a double-sided ceasefire. Trump also stated that the United States had received a 10-point proposal from Iran and believed it to be a workable basis on which to negotiate, adding that almost all points of past contention had been agreed to and that the two-week period would allow the agreement to be finalized and consummated. Trump further stated that the United States had already met and exceeded all military objectives and was very far along with a definitive agreement concerning long-term peace with Iran and peace in the Middle East.

How did Pakistan’s diplomatic intervention by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and General Asim Munir lead to the April 2026 US-Iran ceasefire?

Pakistan emerged as the central diplomatic mediator in the final hours before Trump’s April 7 deadline, with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistani army chief General Asim Munir playing decisive roles in brokering the arrangement. Trump credited direct conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and General Asim Munir as the basis for his decision to suspend the planned military action. Sharif had earlier urged Trump publicly to extend his deadline by two weeks to allow diplomacy to advance, and had separately called on Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz as a gesture of goodwill.

Iran’s 10-point peace proposal had been transmitted to the United States government through Pakistan in the days leading up to the ceasefire, reflecting Islamabad’s role as the primary diplomatic back-channel between Washington and Tehran throughout the conflict. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif subsequently invited both the United States and Iranian delegations to Islamabad on Friday, April 10, 2026, to further negotiate toward a conclusive agreement to settle all disputes. Sharif described the ceasefire announcement as a display of remarkable wisdom by both parties and stated that he hoped the Islamabad Talks would succeed in achieving sustainable peace.

Pakistan’s mediation represents a significant diplomatic development given its geographic proximity to Iran, its historical bilateral relationships with both Tehran and Washington, and its status as a nuclear-armed state with direct strategic interests in regional energy and security stability. Islamabad has previously served as an intermediary in United States-Iran diplomatic contacts, but the April 2026 intervention occurred at an unusually high level of military and political escalation, making Pakistan’s role more consequential than any prior Pakistani mediation effort in the conflict.

What are the specific terms of the US-Iran two-week ceasefire and what did Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi say about the Strait of Hormuz?

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi confirmed Tehran’s acceptance of the ceasefire arrangement in a public statement issued on behalf of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. Araghchi stated that if attacks against Iran were halted, Iran’s armed forces would cease their defensive operations. On the question of the Strait of Hormuz, Araghchi said that for a period of two weeks, safe passage through the strait would be possible via coordination with Iran’s armed forces and with due consideration of technical limitations.

This formulation fell notably short of Trump’s stated requirement for the complete, immediate, and safe opening of the strait, and multiple reports noted that the conditional and coordinated nature of Iran’s Hormuz access offer left ambiguity about whether Washington’s demands had been fully met. A United States Defense Department official nonetheless confirmed that the order to cease all offensive military operations had been given effective immediately following Trump’s announcement, and a White House official confirmed that Israel had also agreed to the temporary ceasefire, subject to Iran’s reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The Strait of Hormuz is the most critical oil transit chokepoint in the global energy system, through which approximately one-fifth of global oil supply passes under normal peacetime conditions. Its disruption since February 28, 2026, has caused severe energy market dislocations. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Bahrain collectively shut in an estimated 7.5 million barrels per day of crude oil production in March 2026, according to the United States Energy Information Administration. The administration projected that figure could rise to 9.1 million barrels per day in April 2026 before gradually easing and cautioned that Middle East oil production would not return close to pre-conflict levels until late 2026. United States crude oil had traded as high as 117 dollars per barrel on Tuesday before falling approximately 8 percent to around 103 dollars per barrel following the ceasefire announcement.

What did Iran’s Supreme National Security Council declare about the ceasefire and what does Tehran’s 10-point plan require of the United States?

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council released a formal statement on Iranian state media characterising the ceasefire as representing a historic and crushing defeat for the enemy and framing it as a victory for the Islamic Republic. The council stated that the conflict had been ongoing for 40 days since the joint United States-Israeli offensive commenced on February 28, 2026, and that Iran and its allied forces had maintained the upper hand on the battlefield throughout, with the enemy realising approximately 10 days into the conflict that military victory was not achievable.

The Supreme National Security Council’s statement specified that the ceasefire did not signify the termination of the war and that Iran’s hands remained upon the trigger, warning that the slightest error by the enemy would be met with full force. The council stated that Iran would only accept the formal end of the war once the details of its 10-point plan had been finalized in negotiations. The statement identified the terms as having been approved by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. The 10-point plan, transmitted to Washington through Pakistan, includes demands that multiple reports described as potentially significant obstacles to a final agreement, among them the complete removal of all United States military forces from the region and the lifting of all sanctions imposed on Iran.

The Supreme National Security Council also indicated that the two-week negotiation period in Islamabad could be extended by mutual agreement if talks were proceeding constructively. The council described the forthcoming Islamabad negotiations as national negotiations and a continuation of the battlefield, calling on all Iranian citizens, political groups, and elites to support the process and avoid divisive statements. The council’s statement said that if the enemy’s surrender on the battlefield is transformed into a decisive political achievement in negotiations, Iran would celebrate a massive historical victory together; otherwise, the council said, Iran would continue to fight on the battlefield until all its demands were met.

What role did Israel play in the April 2026 US-Iran ceasefire agreement and what questions remain about implementation in Lebanon and across the region?

A White House official confirmed that Israel had agreed to the temporary ceasefire, with the arrangement explicitly subject to Iran’s reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had publicly supported the joint United States-Israeli offensive since its launch, arguing it was necessary to eliminate Iran as a regional threat and prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated in his public announcement that the ceasefire would also apply in Lebanon, where Israeli forces have been conducting military operations against Hezbollah. This would represent a significant constraint on Israeli military operations in the region if observed in practice.

Multiple reports noted that some Iranian missiles were launched toward Israel and several Gulf states in the immediate period after the ceasefire took effect at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on April 7, 2026. A United States official indicated that it might take time for the ceasefire order to filter down to lower ranks of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari had issued a statement earlier on April 7, warning that attacks on United States forces in the region and on Israeli infrastructure would continue and would become heavier and more massive, before the ceasefire was formally announced.

Since the conflict began on February 28, 2026, President Trump had repeatedly imposed deadlines linked to escalatory threats, only to extend them as diplomatic activity intensified. The April 7 ceasefire followed this pattern of deadline-setting and last-minute de-escalation. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said there were discussions underway about in-person talks in Islamabad but that nothing was final until announced by the president or the White House. Reports indicated Vice President JD Vance was likely to lead the United States delegation at the Islamabad talks scheduled for April 10, 2026, though this was not officially confirmed by the White House at the time of publication.

How did global financial markets react to the US-Iran ceasefire announcement and what is the outlook for energy prices?

Financial markets reacted with immediate relief to the ceasefire announcement. S&P 500 futures rose more than 1.6 percent, Nasdaq 100 futures gained 1.8 percent, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 725 points in the period following Trump’s Truth Social post. United States crude oil prices dropped approximately 8 percent from an intraday high of 117 dollars per barrel to approximately 103 dollars per barrel, reflecting market expectations of an easing in the supply disruption that had driven energy prices sharply higher since the start of the conflict.

The United States Energy Information Administration had separately released revised forecasts indicating that fuel prices would likely continue to rise until the Strait of Hormuz reopened and oil production in the Gulf region returned to normal levels. The administration projected that the United States average retail gasoline price would peak at approximately 4.30 dollars per gallon in April 2026 and that Middle East oil production shut-ins would not return close to pre-conflict levels until late 2026, even under the scenario that the war does not extend beyond April.

Key takeaways on what the US-Iran two-week ceasefire means for the conflict, Strait of Hormuz energy markets, and Islamabad negotiations

• President Donald Trump and Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi confirmed a two-week ceasefire effective April 7, 2026, brokered by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and General Asim Munir, halting United States offensive military operations against Iran and suspending Iranian armed forces’ declared defensive operations.
• Iran’s acceptance of the Strait of Hormuz opening includes conditions, with Tehran specifying that safe passage would be available via coordination with Iranian armed forces and subject to technical limitations, a formulation that does not fully satisfy President Trump’s stated requirement for a complete, immediate, and safe reopening of the waterway.
• Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, with terms approved by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, declared the ceasefire a victory for the Islamic Republic, framed the Islamabad negotiations beginning April 10, 2026, as a continuation of the battlefield, and stated that the war is not formally over.
• Iran’s 10-point peace plan, transmitted to Washington through Pakistan, contains demands including the removal of all United States military forces from the region and the lifting of all sanctions on Iran, which analysts identified as potentially significant obstacles to a permanent agreement.
• Global financial markets responded sharply to the ceasefire announcement, with crude oil falling approximately 8 percent and United States equity index futures rising, though the United States Energy Information Administration cautioned that Middle East oil production disruptions will not return close to pre-conflict levels until late 2026.