President Trump on Tuesday evening announced a two-week ceasefire in the war “subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz.”
In a Truth Social post, the president said the US would cease all bombing during this window in what he described as a “double sided CEASEFIRE” that was possible from the US perspective because military objectives had been met.
Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s minister of foreign affairs, confirmed acceptance of the terms in a statement shortly after Trump’s announcement, saying if attacks on Iran are halted, its own operations would cease and that “for a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces.”
The apparent deal would have the most direct effect on energy markets if Iran follows through and opens the crucial 21-mile-wide Hormuz waterway, which it has effectively blockaded for weeks.
Crude oil futures immediately dropped below $100 per barrel on Tuesday evening’s news. Stock futures also surged.
Trump also wrote that the US is ”very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East,” telegraphing a possible end to the nearly six-week war that he said can be worked on during the ceasefire.
The president described the war as a “problem close to resolution.”
Trump had previously set an 8 p.m. Tuesday deadline for Iran to open the strait, leaving markets to spend the day weighing the chances of economic fallout from escalation alongside Trump’s pattern of backing away from his threats at the last minute.
Earlier on Tuesday, the president said that short of a cease-fire deal, “a whole civilization will die tonight.”
Trump’s 11th-hour post came in response to a proposal from Pakistan, which is moderating peace talks and first laid out how the US could offer a two-week ceasefire in exchange for Iran’s reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
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The possible pause in fighting came after new strikes in the region on Tuesday.
Just hours before the deadline, Iran had signaled that negotiations had ended and Trump ordered new attacks on Kharg Island, a seaport that handles up to 90% of Iran’s oil exports.
On Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance, during a press conference in Budapest, confirmed the attacks but downplayed their importance, saying they were similar to previous strikes on military targets on the island — with oil infrastructure again being spared — and did not represent a change in US strategy.