US President Donald Trump on Tuesday agreed to suspend attacks on Iran for two weeks, subject to Tehran reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said the agreement “be a double sided CEASEFIRE,” and that Washington received a 10-point proposal from Iran that is a “workable basis on which to negotiate.”
Iran’s foreign minister said in a statement that Tehran would cease its “defensive operation,” and that safe passage through the strait would be possible for two weeks if coordinated with Iran’s military.
Trump’s announcement, which came less than two hours before his 8 pm ET deadline where he warned that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if a deal with Iran was not reached.
Still, Trump had left himself with an off-ramp, and had suggested earlier that deadline “could change.”
Lawmakers were uneasy over his threat, with one Republican hoping it’s “bluster” and another saying: “I do not support the destruction of a ‘whole civilization.’”