Updates with Iran's confirmation of ceasefire and assumed conditions
The US and Iran said on Tuesday they would halt hostilities for a two-week period to finalize a peace deal, but their public statements differ on the status of navigation through the strait of Hormuz.
President Donald Trump late on Tuesday said he would delay a planned massive attack against Iran's civilian and energy sites by two weeks if Iran agrees to allow free transit through the strait of Hormuz.
Trump cited Pakistan's mediation and said that "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."
Iran's supreme national security council confirmed the ceasefire agreement but described the peace proposal under discussion as enshrining "continued Iranian control over the strait of Hormuz", according to Iran's Tasnim news agency, which is linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Trump made the announcement an hour before an 8pm ET deadline he set for starting a campaign to destroy "every" bridge and power plant in Iran. Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif previewed the move hours earlier by announcing that diplomacy between the US and Iran made progress and suggesting that the sides agree to a two-week ceasefire.
Trump asserted that the US already met its military objectives and "are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East." He further said that Iran submitted a 10-point proposal that he described as workable.
Tehran's statement described the 10-point proposal as enshrining its control over Hormuz, lifting all sanctions on Iran, acceptance of its right to nuclear enrichment, withdrawal of all US forces from the region and ending Israel's incursion into Lebanon. "We congratulate all the people of Iran on this victory," the supreme national security council said.
The terms as described by Iran would represent a major strategic retreat for the US. But the White House has yet to confirm the details of the proposal. Israel has yet to express its position about the ceasefire and the peace proposal.
Trump asserted that he would be negotiating on behalf of Iran's Mideast Gulf neighbors, which have already expressed reservation about any deal giving Iran any degree of control over the flow of oil and gas from the region.
Little is known about the details of the negotiations and the identity of the negotiators from the two sides.
Crude futures were down in after-hours trading following the confirmation of a ceasefire by both the US and Iran.
