US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Washington and Tehran had agreed to a two-week ceasefire, easing fears of an immediate escalation in the Middle East and raising hopes for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global oil shipping route.
The agreement came less than two hours before a deadline Trump had imposed on Iran to reopen the strategic waterway or face what he had threatened would be devastating attacks on civilian infrastructure. Trump said the suspension of planned US strikes was conditional on Iran allowing the “complete, immediate and safe” reopening of the strait.
“This will be a double-sided ceasefire,” Trump said in a social media post, adding that the move followed discussions involving Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and military chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, who have emerged as key intermediaries in the conflict. Pakistan had earlier appealed for a two-week pause in hostilities to create space for diplomacy.
The truce marked a sharp shift in tone after days of inflammatory rhetoric from the White House. Trump had earlier warned that if no agreement was reached, “a whole civilization” could be wiped out, language that had sent shockwaves through diplomatic circles and financial markets. The war, now more than five weeks old, has already unsettled global energy markets and heightened fears of a wider regional conflict.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said ships would be able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz during the two-week period in coordination with Iran’s armed forces and within what he described as technical limitations. Tehran’s position suggested a controlled and temporary opening of the strait rather than a full normalization of maritime traffic.
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The Strait of Hormuz, which links the Gulf to the Arabian Sea, is one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints, carrying a large share of global seaborne crude exports. Any disruption to traffic through the narrow passage has immediate implications for oil prices, shipping costs and inflation across major economies.
Markets reacted swiftly to the announcement. Oil prices fell sharply as traders interpreted the truce as reducing the immediate risk of prolonged supply disruption, while US stock futures rose on hopes that a broader military confrontation could be avoided. The easing in market anxiety reflected how closely investors have been tracking developments around Hormuz since the outbreak of the conflict.
Both Washington and Tehran quickly portrayed the agreement as a victory.
Trump said the United States had already met or exceeded its military objectives and was close to securing a broader peace arrangement with Iran. He said Washington had received a 10-point Iranian proposal and now considered it a workable basis for talks aimed at reaching a more permanent settlement.
Iran, however, framed the pause as evidence that the United States had been forced to retreat under pressure. Iranian state-linked statements said Tehran had compelled Washington to accept core principles for negotiation and insisted that any final deal must reflect Iran’s demands and strategic interests.
According to reports, Iran’s proposal includes demands for the withdrawal of US combat forces from regional bases, the lifting of sanctions, the release of frozen Iranian assets abroad and compensation for war-related damages. It also outlines a framework for regulated passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Talks are expected to take place in Islamabad in the coming days, with diplomats hoping the two-week window can produce a more durable de-escalation. But with deep mistrust still separating both sides, the ceasefire is likely to be seen as a fragile pause rather than a guaranteed path to peace.
