Trump Pulls Back From Escalation As Iran Ceasesfire Starts

Less than two hours before the deadline he imposed, Donald Trump announced he is holding off on his threat to destroy Iran’s “whole civilisation” for two weeks.

His statement, which came with the caveat that Iran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz, also said Iran presented a “10-point proposal” that is “workable.”

The Strait of Hormuz, a waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that serves as a channel for transporting oil and gas, is controlled by Iran and is integral to the global economy.

“This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE! 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 wrote in a Truth Social post.

“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.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel also backed the ceasefire, but noted that the deal doesn’t apply to its conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to The Associated Press and Reuters.

“Israel supports President Trump’s decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks subject to Iran immediately opening the straits and stopping all attacks on the US, Israel and countries in the region,” the Israeli prime minister’s account shared on X.

“The two-weeks ceasefire does not include Lebanon,” the account also noted.

Shortly after Trump’s announcement, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council confirmed it had agreed to the two-week ceasefire.

“It is emphasized that this does not signify the termination of the war,” Iran’s statement said. “Our hands remain upon the trigger, and should the slightest error be committed by the enemy, it shall be met with full force.”

Iran Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in a statement that “safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations” for two weeks.

Yet soon thereafter, missiles were detected by Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council also detailed alleged provisions of a 10-point plan in a statement, NBC News and The Associated Press reported.

Its characterisation included the “withdrawal of US combat forces from all bases and positions in the region” and “controlled passage through the Strait of Hormuz coordinated with Iran’s armed forces”.

However, Iran apparently released two different versions of the plan, The Associated Press reported.

“In the version released in Farsi, Iran included the phrase ‘acceptance of enrichment’ for its nuclear programme. But for reasons that remain unclear, that phrase was missing in English versions shared by Iranian diplomats to journalists,” AP noted.

The news of the two-week ceasefire was announced after Trump made a jarring threat against Iran earlier in the day.

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump posted Tuesday on Truth Social, essentially threatening genocide if the Strait of Hormuz wasn’t open.

On February 28, the US and Israel began Operation Epic Fury, relentlessly bombarding Iran. Though contradictory or nonsensical statements from Trump are nothing new, the president has made numerous conflicting remarks about the war and the US’s objectives in Iran.

He has also backtracked on the deadlines he has imposed and the threats he has made multiple times. Experts have said that destroying Iran’s civilian infrastructure, as Trump has threatened to do, would be a war crime.

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah,” Trump wrote on social media on Sunday.

Trump made a similar threat on March 21, demanding that the Strait be “FULLY OPEN” in 48 hours, or the U.S. would “obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!”

But on March 23, Trump shelved those plans, saying the US had “had productive” discussions with Iran. He announced another 10-day postponement, “pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction” beginning on March 26, after the stock market dropped.

On April 1, Trump said the strait needed to be “open, free and clear” for a ceasefire to be implemented. “Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!

The US Congress, which is on Easter recess, has largely remained quiet on the war and Trump’s recent genocidal threat.

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