US, Iran Reach Last-Minute Agreement On 2-Week Cease-Fire

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump and Iran have agreed to a two-week Pakistani-brokered cease-fire, pulling back from the brink to allow the two sides time to negotiate a peace deal.

Trump, who early on April 7wrotethat "a whole civilization will die tonight" if Iran fails to reach a deal, said in a social media post that he had received a 10 point proposal from Tehran and he believes "it is a workable basis on which to negotiate."

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Trump, Tehran Reach Deal On Temporary Cease-Fire

The Tasnim news agency, which is close to the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), confirmed a cease-fire has been "established" between the two sides "with specific conditions."

"...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," Trumpwrote.

Trump gave no details of the Iranian proposal, but added that the agreement hinges on Tehran allowing for the free passage of ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil and gas shipping lane.

Analysts pointed to that condition -- some 20 percent of the world's oil and gas pass through the waterway -- as being the key to the deal, adding that the stability of the cease-fire rests on Tehran.

"Now all eyes are on Iran as the president has made the cease-fire contingent upon Iran opening the strait," Alex Plitsas, a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council and a former Pentagon official, told RFE/RL.

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