Iraq’s Islamic Resistance also said it would suspend operations in Iraq and across the region for two weeks.
More than an hour after Trump’s announcement, the Israeli military said it had identified missiles launched from Iran, and explosions from intercepted missiles could be heard in Tel Aviv. Gulf countries including Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also issued near-simultaneous alerts and activated air defenses.
Israeli media said its military was striking back at launch sites in Iran.
Trump, who has issued a series of threats in recent weeks only to back away, said progress between the two sides had prompted him to agree to the ceasefire. He said Iran had presented a 10-point proposal that was a “workable basis” for negotiations and that he expected an agreement to be “finalized and consummated” during the two-week window.
“We have a 15-point transaction, of which most of those things have been agreed on. We’ll see what happens. We’ll see if it gets there,” he said.
But Iran publicly released points that took maximalist positions, including lifting longstanding U.S. sanctions, guaranteeing its own “dominion” over the Strait of Hormuz and removing U.S. forces from the region.
Still, markets enjoyed a relief rally as oil prices dropped, stocks and bonds surged and the dollar weakened, bolstered by hope that trade through the strait could resume.
Japan welcomed the ceasefire as a “positive step,” with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi emphasizing Tokyo’s hopes that “a final agreement” will be reached soon.
Takaichi also told reporters that she had held a 25-minute telephone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian — the first talks since the war erupted — in which she called for the safe passage of Japanese-related vessels and those of other countries through the Strait of Hormuz to be ensured “without delay.”
Trump, meanwhile, said that he believed China had helped get Iran to the negotiating table. The U.S. president is due to travel to Beijing in May to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
“I hear yes,” Trump said when asked if Beijing was involved in getting key ally Tehran to negotiate on a truce.
By agreeing to the ceasefire, Trump may be showing an awareness that the war — which is deeply unpopular in many parts of the United States — is dragging on longer than he expected, analysts said.
“In the last few days we’ve seen President Trump wanting to find a route towards a way that the U.S. military can back out of the war with Iran, but also frame that as a kind of victory for the U.S.,” said Jessica Genauer, academic director of the Public Policy Institute at Australia’s University of New South Wales.
Trump’s announcement capped a whirlwind day that was dominated by his threat to destroy every bridge and power plant in Iran unless Tehran reopened the strait. That unnerved world leaders, rattled global markets and drew widespread condemnation, including criticism from the head of the United Nations and Pope Leo.
Some international law experts have said attacking civilian infrastructure indiscriminately could constitute a war crime.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sharply increased oil prices, escalating the chances of a global economic downturn or even recession. The U.S. Energy Information Administration warned earlier on Tuesday that fuel prices could continue to rise for months even after the strait reopened.
With the U.S. midterm election campaign ramping up, Trump’s approval ratings have hit their lowest level ever, leaving his Republican Party at risk of losing its narrow majorities in Congress. Polls show sizable majorities of Americans are opposed to the war and frustrated by the rising cost of gasoline.
As the clock ticked down to Trump’s 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time deadline, U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran had intensified, hitting railway and road bridges, an airport and a petrochemical plant. U.S. forces attacked targets on Kharg Island, home to Iran’s main oil export terminal.
