US and Iran agree to 2-week ceasefire as Trump seizes diplomatic offramp instead of escalation

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump pulled backmost connected his threats to motorboat devastating strikes connected Iran precocious Tuesday, swerving to deescalate the warfare little than 2 hours earlier the deadline helium acceptable for Tehran to capitulate oregon other a “whole civilization volition die.”

Trump said helium was holding disconnected connected his threatened attacks connected Iranian bridges, powerfulness plants and different civilian targets, taxable to Tehran agreeing to a two-week ceasefire and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway done which a 5th of the world’s lipid is shipped during peacetime. He besides said Iran has projected a “workable” 10-point bid program that could assistance extremity the warfare launched by the U.S. and Israel successful February.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said it has accepted a two-week ceasefire and that it would negociate with the United States successful Islamabad opening Friday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said transition done the strait would beryllium allowed for the adjacent 2 weeks nether Iranian subject management. It wasn’t instantly wide whether that meant Iran would loosen its chokehold connected the waterway.

In a station connected his societal media site, Trump said that helium would suspend attacks connected Iran for 2 weeks provided Tehran agreed “to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING" of the strait.

Iran’s demands for ending the warfare see power of the strait, the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from the region, the lifting of sanctions and the merchandise of its frozen assets. The demands bespeak an effort to remake some the geopolitical bid successful the Middle East and the planetary lipid trade.

Even arsenic the ceasefire was announced, rocket alerts continued successful the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait aboriginal Wednesday, hinting astatine the chaos surrounding the diplomatic moves. The U.S. subject has halted each violative operations against Iran but continues antiaircraft actions, said an official, who spoke connected information of anonymity to picture delicate subject operations.

Since the warfare began, Trump has repeatedly backed disconnected deadlines conscionable earlier they expire.

In doing truthful again Tuesday, Trump said helium had travel to the determination “based connected conversations” with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Gen. Asim Munir, Pakistan’s almighty service chief. Sharif, successful a station connected X hours earlier, urged Trump to widen his deadline by 2 weeks to let diplomacy to advance. He utilized the aforesaid station to inquire Iran to unfastened the strait for 2 weeks.

The president said successful his societal media station that Iran has presented “a workable ground connected which to negotiate.”

“Almost each of the assorted points of past contention person been agreed to betwixt the United States and Iran, but a 2 week play volition let the Agreement to beryllium finalized and consummated,” Trump said.

But determination are concerns successful Israel astir the agreement, according to a idiosyncratic acquainted with the concern who spoke connected information of anonymity due to the fact that they were not allowed to talk to the media. The idiosyncratic said Israel would similar to execute more.

Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium is inactive buried astatine enrichment sites. The programme had been 1 of the main issues cited by some Israel and the U.S. successful launching the war.

Earlier Trump threats raised alarms

Trump’s expansive menace Tuesday did not look to relationship for imaginable harm to civilians, prompting Democrats successful Congress, immoderate United Nations officials and scholars successful subject instrumentality to accidental specified strikes would interruption planetary law.

Tehran’s typical astatine the U.N., Amir-Saeid Iravani, said the threats “constitute incitement to warfare crimes and perchance genocide” and that Iran would "take contiguous and proportionate reciprocal measures” if Trump launches devastating strikes.

The U.S. and Israel person battered Iran with attacks targeting its subject capabilities, enactment and atomic program. Iran has responded with a watercourse of strikes connected Israel and Gulf Arab neighbors, causing determination chaos and outsized economical and governmental shock.

Late Tuesday, Pakistan's premier curate urged Trump to widen his deadline by 2 weeks to let diplomacy to advance. In a station connected X, Shehbaz Sharif, whose state has been starring negotiations, besides asked Iran to unfastened up for 2 weeks the Strait of Hormuz.

Before the deadline, airstrikes deed 2 bridges and a bid station, and the U.S. deed subject infrastructure connected Kharg Island, a cardinal hub for Iranian lipid production.

Trump has extended deadlines before

Since the warfare began, Trump has repeatedly imposed deadlines linked to threats, lone to widen them. Tehran antecedently rejected a 45-day ceasefire connection by Egyptian, Pakistani and Turkish mediators, saying it wants a imperishable extremity to the war.

Iran’s president said 14 cardinal people, including himself, person volunteered to fight. That's contempt Trump saying that U.S. forces could hitch retired each bridges successful Iran successful a substance of hours and trim each powerfulness plants to smoking rubble successful astir the aforesaid clip frame.

It was not wide if airstrikes against Iran connected Tuesday were linked to Trump’s threats to widen the civilian people list. At slightest 2 of the targets were connected to Iran’s obstruction network, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli warplanes struck bridges and railways successful Iran.

Tehran fired connected Israel and Saudi Arabia, prompting the impermanent closure of a large bridge.

While Iran cannot lucifer the sophistication of U.S. and Israeli weaponry oregon their dominance successful the air, its chokehold connected the strait since the warfare began successful precocious February is roiling the satellite system and raising the unit connected Trump some astatine location and overseas to find a mode retired of the standoff.

Trump keeps an off-ramp open

“A full civilization volition dice tonight, ne'er to beryllium brought backmost again,” if a woody isn’t reached, Trump said successful an online station Tuesday morning. But helium besides seemed to support unfastened the anticipation of an off-ramp, saying that “maybe thing revolutionarily fantastic tin happen.”

Earlier, Iranian authoritative Alireza Rahimi issued a video connection calling connected “all young people, athletes, artists, students and assemblage students and their professors” to signifier quality chains astir powerfulness plants.

Iranians person formed quality chains successful the past astir atomic sites astatine times of heightened tensions with the West. State media posted videos online that showed hundreds of flag-waving radical massed astatine 2 bridges and astatine a powerfulness works hundreds of kilometers (miles) from Tehran, though it was not wide however wide the signifier was.

“They’re not allowed to bash that,” Trump said successful a telephone telephone with NBC News.

A wide successful Iran's Revolutionary Guard wide warned that Iran would “deprive the U.S. and its allies of the region’s lipid and state for years” and grow its attacks crossed the Gulf portion if Trump carries retired his threat.

In Tehran, the temper was bleak. A young teacher said that galore opponents of Iran's Islamic strategy had hoped Trump's attacks would rapidly topple it. As the warfare drags on, she fears U.S. and Israeli strikes volition dispersed chaos.

“If we don’t person the internet, and if we don’t person electricity, water, and gas, we’re truly going backmost to the Stone Age, arsenic Trump said,” she told The Associated Press, speaking connected the information of anonymity for her safety.

Growing disapproval of threats

In Rome, Pope Leo XIV said Tuesday that the threats were “truly unacceptable” and that specified attacks would interruption planetary law.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said that attacks targeting civilian and vigor infrastructure could represent a warfare crime. Such cases are notoriously hard to prosecute. Trump has said he’s “not astatine all” acrophobic astir committing warfare crimes.

A spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said helium was “deeply troubled” by the threats, saying nary subject nonsubjective justified targeting civilian infrastructure.

Airstrikes deed Iran, which fires connected Saudi Arabia and Israel

Intense airstrikes pounded Tehran, including successful residential neighborhoods. In the past, specified strikes person targeted Iranian authorities and information officials.

The Israeli subject said it attacked an Iranian petrochemical tract successful Shiraz, the 2nd time successful a enactment it deed specified a facility. The subject aboriginal said it besides struck bridges successful respective cities that were being utilized by Iranian forces to transport weapons and subject equipment.

A U.S. official, who spoke connected information of anonymity to sermon delicate subject operations, described the strikes connected Kharg Island arsenic hitting targets antecedently struck and not directed astatine lipid infrastructure.

Saudi Arabia said it intercepted 7 ballistic missiles and 4 drones launched by Iran. Iran besides fired connected Israel.

More than 1,900 radical person been killed successful Iran since the warfare began, but the authorities has not updated the toll for days.

In Lebanon, wherever Israel is warring Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, much than 1,500 radical person been killed. and much than 1 cardinal radical person been displaced. Eleven Israeli soldiers person died there.

In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, much than 2 twelve radical person died, portion 23 person been reported dormant successful Israel, and 13 U.S. work members person been killed.

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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers John Leicester successful Paris; Nicole Winfield successful Rome; Amir-Hussein Radjy successful Cairo; Natalie Melzer successful Jerusalem; Farnoush Amiri astatine The United Nations; and Konstantin Toropin, Seung Min Kim, Michelle L. Price, Joshua Boak and Will Weissert successful Washington contributed to this report.

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