Trump backs down from his ultimatum and accepts a ceasefire in Iran

WashingtonThe doomsday announced by Donald Trump has not arrived this morning in Iran either. Shortly before the clock in Washington struck eight in the evening and his final ultimatum expired, the US president has once again backed down. The Republican announced on his social network that he is suspending for two weeks "hell" with which he had promised to annihilate Persian civilization, in exchange for Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz. But the truce, mediated by Pakistan, accentuates the asymmetry that has been observed during the month of conflict. In his confirmation of the agreement, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Aragchi, stressed that it will be possible to "circulate safely" through the maritime passage "through the coordination of the armed forces of Iran".

Aragchi's statement, which Trump has endorsed and shared on Truth Social, says that the framework for the negotiations will be Iran's 10-point proposal, as well as Washington's 15-point plan. "We have received a ten-point proposal from Iran and we believe it constitutes a viable basis for negotiation," the American stated. And he adds that "almost all points of disagreement from the past have already been agreed upon between the United States and Iran, but a period of two weeks will allow the agreement to be finalized and formalized."

Trump has not only backed down for the fourth time, but is now open to negotiating according to the ayatollahs' demands. The version that the Iranians had presented on Monday - and which Washington had initially rejected - asked for guarantees that the country would not be attacked again, control of maritime traffic in Hormuz, and the lifting of all sanctions. Iranian state media also assures that the current plan includes the acceptance of Iran's uranium enrichment program, which had previously constituted a red line for the USA.

For the moment, the North American administration has not confirmed whether this is the framework they have agreed to. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt limited herself to presenting it as "a victory for the USA thanks to President Trump and our soldiers." Leavitt assured that this Wednesday Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, will appear to provide an update. The Pentagon had mobilized 7,000 additional soldiers in the Middle East in recent weeks, including two Marine units. The one aboard the amphibious ship USS Tripoli arrived last weekend, and it is estimated that the other, with the USS Boxer, was due to arrive by mid-April.

Meeting in Islamabad this Friday

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has celebrated the achievement of the truce in X and has invited the US and Iranian delegations to meet in Islamabad this Friday. Although Trump has stressed that it is a "bilateral ceasefire", the war has always been a three-way affair. The United States attacked Tehran on February 28, along with Israel. The Israeli government says it supports its partner's ceasefire, but will not stop attacks against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. In principle, one of the Iranians' other demands is that the cessation of hostilities also apply in Lebanon.

Tel Aviv is endangering the nascent ceasefire, but Trump is already talking about peace. In a post after the announcement, Trump celebrated the milestone as "a great day for world peace" and hastened to say that "the US will help with the recovery of transit in the Strait of Hormuz." "They've had enough! There will be a lot of positive action! A lot of money will be made. Iran can begin the reconstruction process. We will load all sorts of supplies and will "just be around" to make sure everything goes well," he wrote on Truth Social. And he topped it off with the assertion that "this could be the Golden Age of the Middle East."

Despite the agreement, shortly after the ceasefire was announced, countries in the Persian Gulf - including Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Israel - have continued to register missile and drone attacks. It is unclear whether this is a violation of the pause by Iran or that the information was still reaching the rest of the Iranian forces through the chain of command. Beyond the army, the ayatollahs' regime also has the Revolutionary Guard, which acts as a separate, decentralized body that only obeys the supreme leader.

Washington's credibility, eroded

Trump's sudden change of heart comes after he threatened Iran with war crimes on Saturday morning. You just had to scroll down a bit on the This morning's development is not the first about-face Trump has made in the midst of the military campaign with Iran, but it is the most drastic and sensitive. The turn calls into question the credibility of the president's threats, especially after hinting at genocide against the Persians. With the same vagueness with which he tried to justify the start of the war, the president is now also trying to sell its end. In the ceasefire post, the leader assures that they have "achieved and surpassed all military objectives." Abstract goals about which little has ever been specified. Before the ceasefire was announced, images of a surge in orders at pizzerias near the Pentagon were circulating. It is said that every time the army is about to attack or experiences a crisis situation, orders skyrocket. Perhaps on this occasion, the reason was the anticipation of a long night spent preparing a more detailed list of fulfilled military objectives that Hegseth and Caine can defend in their appearance.

Meanwhile, the data the White House is clinging to in order to declare victory is that the promised deadlines have been met. "From the very beginning of Operation Epic Fury, President Trump estimated it would be an operation of between 4 and 6 weeks. Thanks to the incredible capabilities of our soldiers, we have achieved and even surpassed our main military objectives in 38 days," Leavitt wrote. The US administration is doing the same thing with Iran as it did with Gaza, wanting to sell a ceasefire as the end of the war.