By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON, April 7 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he has agreed to suspend the bombing of Iran for two weeks while accepting a 14-day truce proposal from mediators in the Iran war.
Trump said he spoke to leaders in Pakistan, which has been a mediator between Washington and Tehran and which had sought a two-week ceasefire.
“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 on social media.
“This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE,” Trump said.
Trump said the U.S. has received a 10-point proposal from Iran, which he called a workable basis on which to negotiate.”
Trump said in his post that nearly all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the U.S. and Iran and the two-week period will allow a deal to be finalized.
Trump, who has offered shifting goals and timelines for the war, reiterated that he felt Washington’s objectives had been achieved.
The Iran war began when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Tehran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states with U.S. bases. The war has shaken global markets and raised oil prices.
U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran and Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions. Trump warned earlier on Tuesday that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran did not make a deal.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh And Ismail Shakil; editing by Scott Malone)
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