Washington– president Donald Trump Over the course of one day it went from Iran’s threat of “genocide” He announced that the Islamic Republic’s exhausted leadership had presented a “workable” plan that led him to agree to a 14-day ceasefire that he expects to pave the way for an end to the nearly six-week war.
The dramatic shift in the tenor of the talks came as mediators, led by Pakistan, worked feverishly to avoid further escalation of the conflict. Even China – Iran’s largest trading partner and The most important economic competitor to the United States – Quietly pulled strings to find a path toward a ceasefire, according to two officials familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“This is because we have already met and exceeded all military objectives, and we are still very far from reaching a final agreement on long-term peace with Iran and peace in the Middle East,” Trump declared in a social media post declaring a temporary ceasefire, about 90 minutes before his deadline for Tehran to open the vital road. Strait of Hormuz Or seeing power plants and other critical infrastructure destroyed.
The president is scheduled to meet at the White House on Wednesday with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Emerging ceasefire and Plan to reopen the strait He is expected to be at the center of the talks.
As the deadline approached, Democratic lawmakers denounced Trump’s threat to wipe out an entire civilization as a “moral failure.” Pope Leo XIV warned Strikes against civilian infrastructure would violate international law, calling the president’s comments “truly unacceptable.”
But in the end, Trump may have ultimately backed down because of a simple fact: that escalation could risk engaging the United States in the kind of “forever war” that bedeviled his predecessors and that bedeviled him. He made a vow He will keep the United States out if voters return him to the White House.
While Trump boasted of the military success achieved by the United States and Israel over the past six weeks, he appeared to be operating from the premise that he could bomb Iran into submission.
Starting from The killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei In the first shots of the war, he seemed to underestimate the fact that the Iranian leadership could choose a long, bloody war.
Over the past 47 years, the Islamic Republic has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to intervene, even when it seemed to America to be working against its own self-interest.
The religious leadership held Americans hostage for 444 days, from late 1979 to early 1981, at the expense of the country’s international standing. The mullahs have allowed the devastating war between Iran and Iraq to continue for years, killing hundreds of thousands. It sided with Hamas after the October 7 attack led to a war with Israel that would weaken the Iran-backed group in Gaza as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon, and created the conditions that led to the war. The collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, supported by Tehran Authoritarian rule in Syria.
Iran’s leadership – battered and outgunned – has shown confidence in its ability to throw the world’s superpower into chaos. A costly and protracted conflict Even if you can’t defeat a great American army.
Defense analysts largely agree that the US military could quickly take control of the region Strait of HormuzIt is the narrow waterway in the Persian Gulf between Iran and Oman through which approximately 20% of the world’s oil flows on any given day. But maintaining security across the waterway requires a high-stakes, resource-intensive operation that could be a long-term American commitment.
Ben Conable, executive director of the nonprofit Battle Research Group, said securing the strait would require the U.S. military to maintain control of about 600 kilometers (373 miles) of Iranian territory, from Kish Island in the west to Bandar Abbas in the east, to prevent Iran from firing missiles at ships passing through the strait. A mission that Conable said would likely require three US infantry divisions, approximately 30,000 to 45,000 soldiers.
“This is going to be an indefinite operation, so, you know, think: Be prepared to do this for 20 years,” said Conable, a retired Marine intelligence officer. “We didn’t think we would be in Afghanistan for 20 years. We didn’t think we would have to stay in Vietnam that long, or in Iraq.”
A regional official said that the two-week ceasefire plan includes allowing both Iran and the Sultanate of Oman to impose fees on ships passing through Hormuz. The official said that Iran would use the money it collected for reconstruction. It was not immediately clear what Oman would use its money for.
The Strait is located in the territorial waters of both Oman and Iran. The world considered this corridor an international waterway and had never paid fees before.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said after the ceasefire was announced that Trump was effectively giving Tehran “control” over the strait and achieving a “history-changing victory for Iran.”
“The level of incompetence is staggering and heartbreaking,” Murphy said.
The ceasefire announcement came after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged Trump to extend the deadline by two weeks to allow diplomacy to progress while also asking Iran to open the strait for two weeks.
Two weeks have become Trump’s preferred time frame to buy himself time when making major decisions. Last summer, the White House said it would decide to launch a campaign Initial bombing campaign against Iran Within two weeks — only for the president to order air strikes, he said “Erasing” the Iranian nuclear program before the end of that period.
Trump has also repeatedly used two weeks to set deadlines It ultimately led to very little During negotiations for Ending Russia’s war with Ukraine Even going back to his first term, suggesting he would have major policy issues like health care resolved within that time frame.
Trump has repeatedly made extreme demands throughout the first 15 months of his second term in the White House Just to order them again.
The president backed down from many Sweeping definitions of “Liberation Day.” This was first announced in April 2025 after they caused confusion in the financial markets. Perhaps the most impressive example came during a World Economic Forum meeting in Davos in January, where Trump insisted that he wanted the United States to take control of Greenland “including right, title and title” just to regain control of Greenland. Change course and give up He threatened to impose broad tariffs on Europe to press his case.
The pretext for retracting this time was Trump saying that he agreed to do so Head of NATO on a “Framework for a Future Agreement” on Arctic security – even though the US already had an extensive military presence in Greenland, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
The White House celebrated on Tuesday evening with aides who praised the ingenuity of the US military and Trump’s maneuvers to set the terms of the ceasefire.
White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt declared, “Our military’s success created maximum leverage, allowing President Trump and the team to engage in difficult negotiations that have now created an opportunity for a diplomatic resolution and long-term peace.” “Never underestimate President Trump’s ability to successfully advance American interests and broker peace,” she added.
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Associated Press writers Sami Magdy in Cairo and Farnoush Amiri in New York contributed reporting.