Iran war: Trump announces two-week ceasefire

The prime minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, said early on Wednesday that the United States and Iran, and both countries' allies, had agreed to an "immediate ceasefire … effective immediately."

He said the ceasefire, negotiated with Pakistani mediation, also included Lebanon and Israel — despite the Lebanese Health Ministry saying on Wednesday that eight people had been killed in an Israeli strike in the southern city of Sidon.

Sharif confirmed that, as reported, he has invited US and Iranian delegations to Islamabad on Friday to "further negotiate for a conclusive agreement to settle all disputes."

He praised both parties for their "remarkable wisdom and understanding" and for remaining "constructively engaged in furthering the cause of peace and stability."

Missile alerts sounded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) early on Wednesday about an hour after the United States, Israel and Iran announced an agreement on a two-week ceasefire.

The UAE said its air defense systems were "engaging with missle and drone threats from Iran."

Earlier, Israel also said it had detected an incoming barrage of Iranian missiles (see below).

The New York Times quoted an unnamed US official as saying that American offensive military strikes against Iran had stopped in accordance with the agreement, but another official told the Associated Press (AP) that defensive actions were continuing.

A first round of negotiations between the United States and Iran will take place on Friday in Islamabad, Pakistan, according to Iran's Supreme National Security Council, which nevertheless "emphasized that this does not signify the termination of the war."

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran would halt ‌its ⁠attacks on neighboring US-allied countries if ⁠attacks against ​it stop, and insisted on Iranian military coordination of transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

 The Supreme Security Council reportedly added: "Our fingers are on the trigger. As soon as the enemy makes the slightest mistake, it will be answered with full force."

Iran and Israel have also accepted a proposal made by Pakistan for a two-week ceasefire, according to reports in the United States, Israel and Iran.

The New York Times has quoted Iranian officials who claim the ceasefire was approved by the country's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.

In Iran, state media claim that US President Trump has "accepted Iran's conditions to end the war" and describe a "humiliating retreat from anti-Iran rhetoric."

Iran's Supreme National Security Council says it has accepted a two-week ceasefire in the war, according to a report from the Associated Press.

Meanwhile, US broadcaster CNN has cited a senior White House official as saying: "Israel has agreed to also suspend its bombing campaign while negotiations continue."

In Israel itself, public broadcaster Kan also reports that Israel is "committed" to a ceasefire.

The Israeli military said early on Wednesday morning that Iran had launched missiles towards Israel, just moments after US President Donald Trump announced he had agreed to postpone a devastating attack on Iranian infrastructure by two weeks.

"[We] identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote on its official Telegram channel. "Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat."

US President Donald Trump agreed to suspend attacks on Iran for two weeks, subject to Tehran reopening the Strait of Hormuz. 

The announcement came less than two hours before a deadline he set that he claimed would have seen the death of "a whole civilization."

In a message on social media, Trump wrote that, following conversations with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, he "[agreed] to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks."

He said this was "subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz."

He added that Iran had submitted a ten-point proposal that he said he believes is "a workable basis on which to negotiate."

He claimed that agreement had already been reached on "almost all of the various points of past contention," but didn't elaborate.

Hello and welcome to our coverage of the continuing conflict in Iran and the Middle East on Wednesday, April 8.

US President Donald Trump has announced a two-week ceasefire after receiving a 10-point proposal from Iran.

Trump had earlier set a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz after which he had threatened massive strikes on the country.

You can catch up with developments related to the war in the Middle East here.