(Al Jazeera Media Network) United States President Donald Trump has agreed to suspend his planned bombing of Iran for two weeks, following his threat that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Tehran did not comply with his demands.
On Tuesday evening, within hours of the planned attack, Trump took to his platform Truth Social to announce he had reversed course.
He credited Pakistan for mediating the settlement but warned it came with conditions — namely that Iran re-open the Strait of Hormuz.
“Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,” Trump wrote.
The message was posted online at 6:32 pm US Eastern time (22:00 GMT), just under one-and-a-half hours before Trump’s 8 pm (00:00 GMT) deadline for the attack.
There had been speculation throughout the day that Trump might extend the deadline, as he has multiple times in recent weeks.
But tensions had mushroomed on Tuesday as the deadline inched closer — and after Trump himself posted a menacing morning message on social media.
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” Trump had written at the time. “I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”
He added that the evening deadline would mark “one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World.”
Still, it remains unclear to what extent Trump will be holding off on an all-out military offensive.
Trump had previously threatened to blow up power plants, bridges and other civilian infrastructure, actions that many legal experts said would amount to a war crime.
In his Tuesday evening message, the US president once again claimed victory over Iran and said that Tehran had delivered a feasible ceasefire proposal.
“This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE,” Trump wrote.
“The reason for doing so is that we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East. We received a 10 point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate.”
Trump explained that the next two weeks would be spent finalising the agreement with Iran.
“Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran,” Trump said.
“It is an Honor to have this Longterm problem close to resolution,” he added.
