WORLD NEWS – Trump caves on his deadline to attack Iran and issues a 2 week ceasefire
By Renae Hefty
President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday, April 7, that he had agreed to a two-week long ceasefire with Iran. Trump also posted Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi’s full statement, confirming the mutual ceasefire and saying Iran forces would halt all “defensive operations,” and would coordinate opening the Strait of Hormuz for two weeks. Amid the two-week truce, ceasefire discussions between the U.S. and Iran will take place in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, starting Saturday. Vice President JD Vance, and senior envoys Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner will be attending the discussions. Trump has said that if Iran doesn’t comply with the terms that the envoys present, the U.S. will carry out large scale attacks on Iran. The complete opening of the Strait of Hormuz is a top priority for the U.S. envoys. Trump reiterated to the New York Post on Friday morning that U.S. warships are being restocked with weapons and ammunition, in case the peace talks aren’t successful. Iran remains in control of the Strait of Hormuz. There have been reports that Iran officials plan to establish a toll for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, although Trump threatened retaliation if a toll was enforced.
Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Friday on social media that for peace talks to happen in Islamabad, Israel must cease its attacks in Lebanon and “Iran’s blocked assets” must be released. The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah – the Lebanon-based Iranian proxy– has continued with Israel bombing Lebanon throughout the last week. After Trump announced the ceasefire with Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said while it supported the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, the agreement did not apply to Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah. Israeli and Lebanese representatives will be meeting in Washington, D.C. next week to attempt to deescalate the situation, according to a U.S. State Department official.
