Updated April 8, 2026 — President Trump announced he has agreed to a two-week, mutual ceasefire with Iran, postponing planned strikes on Iranian infrastructure less than two hours before the deadline he had set for Tehran to accept a deal or face large-scale attacks. In a Truth Social post, the president said the United States would “suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks” and asserted U.S. forces had “already met and exceeded all military objectives.”
Trump said the pause, reached at Pakistan’s request, is conditional on Iran allowing the “complete, immediate, and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz.” Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi confirmed Tehran had agreed to halt what he called “defensive operations,” a reference likely to recent drone and missile strikes, and said Iran’s armed forces would coordinate to permit safe passage through the strait.
A White House official told CBS News that Israel has also accepted the ceasefire proposal. Israel’s prime minister’s office said it supports the U.S. two-week pause but noted the agreement does not cover fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The U.S. and Israel began joint strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, targeting thousands of sites. Iran has responded with attacks on Israel and U.S.-allied Gulf states. After the ceasefire announcement, oil futures fell sharply: West Texas Intermediate dropped more than 13% to below $92 a barrel in the hour after the news. While down from recent highs, prices remained well above pre-war levels; traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — which normally carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil — had been largely halted during the conflict.
The temporary halt follows intense diplomacy involving the U.S., Iran and mediators including Pakistan to prevent a wider escalation in the nearly six-week war. Over the weekend, Trump demanded Iran accept an “acceptable” deal and reopen the strait by Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET, warning that failure to comply would prompt destruction of Iranian power plants and bridges. Earlier on Tuesday, he wrote on Truth Social: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”
Negotiations on a longer-term settlement have not been finalized. Trump said the U.S. is “very far along” toward a definitive long-term peace agreement and described a 10-point peace plan from Iran as a workable basis. Iran rejected a 15-point U.S. proposal offered the day before, according to officials.
The Iranian Supreme National Security Council said formal talks will begin in Islamabad on Friday and continue for two weeks, adding that negotiations will proceed with “complete distrust toward the American side.” It was not immediately clear whether U.S. negotiators will travel to Islamabad. Iran warned that if no deal is reached, it will continue fighting until “all the demands of the Iranian people are achieved.”
Key gaps remain. Iran’s 10-point proposal seeks U.S. withdrawal from regional bases, full compensation, lifting of sanctions and control of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran’s armed forces, along with an end to hostilities against groups Tehran describes as its “Axis of Resistance” — including proxy forces such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. Such terms would represent a substantial shift in U.S. policy, and Trump appeared to reject Iranian control of the strait, suggesting instead the U.S. might collect transit tolls.
The status of Iran’s nuclear program is also unresolved. When strikes began in February, Trump said a principal objective was to ensure Iran could never acquire a nuclear weapon and publicly urged Tehran to abandon uranium enrichment. Iran maintains its nuclear activities are peaceful. U.S. intelligence assessed last spring that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon, but Iran has said it will continue enrichment and retains stockpiles of highly enriched material, some of which remain under rubble from U.S. strikes last June.
Reporters Sara Cook and Claire Day contributed to this report.