- A stunning threat. A looming deadline. And a deal reached just in time
- Iran agreed to a ceasefire 90 minutes before Trump's "wiping out a whole civilization" threat was to end
- Mojtaba Khamenei nudged his negotiators, for the first time since the war began, to move towards a deal
A stunning threat. A looming deadline. And a deal reached just in time.
The world heaved a collective sigh of relief.
A defiant Iran and the most powerful nation in the world, the US, fighting for over a month, agreed to a ceasefire 90 minutes before Trump's "wiping out a whole civilization" threat was to end.
It was Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of former supreme leader Ali Khamenei who was killed in an airstrike at the start of the war on February 28, who nudged his negotiators, for the first time since the war began, to move towards a deal, Axios reported.
Iran's foreign minister said that under the two-week ceasefire agreement, maritime traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil and gas passes, would be guaranteed.
The transits "will be possible via coordination with Iran's Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday praised the two-week ceasefire in the Iran war, calling it a "victory" for the United States.
"The success of our military created maximum leverage, allowing President Trump and the team to engage in tough negotiations that have now created an opening for a diplomatic solution and long-term peace," she said.
The euphoria sent equities rocketing on hopes the crisis that has shocked the global economy for more than a month will come to an end.
Behind The Scenes
As Trump was publicly threatening mass destruction, there were signs of diplomatic momentum behind the scenes.
US forces in the Middle East and officials in the Pentagon spent those closing hours readying for a massive bombing campaign on Iranian infrastructure, and trying to figure out where Trump was leaning.
Allies in the region were bracing for Iranian retaliation on an unprecedented scale.
On Monday, as Trump worked the crowd at a White House Easter celebration, a "very angry" Steve Witkoff, US Special envoy to the Middle East, was working the phones, Axios reported.
The 10-point counter-proposal that Washington had just received from Iran was "a disaster, a catastrophe", the US envoy told the mediators, the American news website reported.
A "chaotic" day of amendments followed, it said, with the Pakistani mediators passing new drafts between Witkoff and Iranian Minister Abbas Araghchi, and the Egyptian and Turkish foreign ministers trying to help bridge gaps.
The mediators secured the US approval for an updated proposal for a two-week ceasefire late by Monday night.
It was now up to Kamenei, who is yet to appear in public since being named the Supreme leader, to make a decision, Axios reported, adding that the Iran leader was actively involved in the process on Monday and Tuesday.
Facing an active threat of assassination by Israel, Khamenei, the third Supreme Leader since the 1979 Islamic revolution, has been communicating primarily via runners passing notes.
Khamenei's blessing for his negotiators to cut a deal was a "breakthrough", Axios reported citing two unnamed sources.
Foreign Minister Araghchi also played a key role both in handling the negotiations and in pushing commanders from the Revolutionary Guards, an elite force, to accept a deal, the American outlet said.
China too was advising Iran to seek an off ramp, it said.
However, the buck stopped with Khamenei. And all major decisions through the two days' of intense negotiations were routed through him, the outlet said.
"Without his green light, there wouldn't have been a deal," Axios reported, quoting a regional source.
It was clear by Tuesday morning that progress was being made.
However, that did not stop Trump from issuing his most harrowing threat: "A whole civilization will die tonight."
Amid conflicting reports by some US media outlets that Iran was breaking off talks in response, sources involved in the negotiations told Axios that it was not the case.
Vice President JD Vance was working the phones from Hungary, dealing primarily with the Pakistanis.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in contact throughout the day with Trump and his team - though the Israelis were growing increasingly concerned that they were losing control of the process.
By Tuesday noon, there was a general consensus that a deal was in the offing.
A few hours later, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif published the terms of the ceasefire deal on X and called on both sides to accept.
Trump okayed the offer.
"I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks," Trump said in a social media post.
He next spoke to Pakistani Field Marshal Asim Munir to close the deal.
Sharif said in a post on X he had invited Iranian and US delegations to meet in Islamabad on Friday.
US forces got the order to stand down 15 minutes after Trump's post.
Araghchi followed up, stating that Iran would adhere to the ceasefire.
For now, all appears well.
