Ninety minutes before the deadline in his threat to wipe out civilians in Iran on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said a deal had been reached for a two-week ceasefire.
The deal between the United States and Iran, brokered by Pakistan, was reached on April 7 just before Trump’s deadline to wipe out “a whole civilization” in Iran unless the Strait of Hormuz was reopened to allow for commercial shipping. Israel also reportedly agreed to the ceasefire.
Trump made the announcement on social media that Pakistan proposed a two-week ceasefire during which Iran would allow oil, gas and other vessels to proceed peacefully through the waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman on the Musandam Peninsula, an area shared by United Arab Emirates and the Musandam Governorate, an exclave of Oman.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said that Iran would provide safe passage for two weeks if possible if passage through the strait was coordinated with Iran’s military.
Trump had said online earlier in the day “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”
“The President’s threat that ‘a whole civilization will die tonight’ cannot be excused away as an attempt to gain leverage in negotiations with Iran,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, in a social media post.
“This type of rhetoric is an affront to the ideals our nation has sought to uphold and promote around the world for nearly 250 years,” Murkowski added. “It undermines our long-standing role as a global beacon of freedom and directly endangers Americans both abroad and at home. The oppressive terror-spreading regime of the Islamic Republic must be distinguished from the people and the civilization of Iran. Everyone involved – especially the President and Iran’s leaders – must de-escalate their unprecedented saber-rattling before it is too late.”
The office of Sen. Dan Sullivan said he has been in constant communication with senior Trump administration officials about all aspects of Operation Epic Fury, Trump’s war plan.
“While the details will be forthcoming, the terms under which the ceasefire was agreed to have the potential to be positive news,” Sullivan’s office said. “As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Sullivan will continue the oversight role he has been playing since the conflict with Iran began.”
Sullivan did not comment specifically on the proposed two-week ceasefire agreement.
