President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that, based on conversations with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, he will delay the “bombing and attack of Iran” for two weeks.

Trump said the decision came after the leaders requested the U.S. “hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran,” which the president previously threatened would start at 8 p.m. eastern time if a deal was not reached.

The president said the postponement is subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to “the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz.”

“This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “The reason for doing so is that we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East.”

He added the administration received a 10-point proposal from Iran, and officials “believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate.”

“Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated,” Trump wrote. “On behalf of the United States of America, as President, and also representing the Countries of the Middle East, it is an Honor to have this Longterm problem close to resolution.”

FoxNews

The head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence, Maj. Gen. Majid Khademi, was killed in airstrikes on Tehran on Monday, April 6, according to Iranian state media and Israeli officials.

The strikes were part of a broader wave of attacks carried out by Israel and the United States across Iran, which killed more than 25 people, The Associated Press reported.

Explosions were heard across Tehran for several hours, with thick smoke rising near Azadi Square after one strike hit the grounds of Sharif University of Technology.

Iran responded by launching missiles toward Israel and Gulf states, with impacts reported in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, where four people were killed, according to local authorities.

Air defense systems were activated in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates to intercept incoming missiles and drones.

The killing of Khademi marks one of the highest-profile Iranian military casualties since the start of the current escalation.

Israeli Defense Minister, Israel Katz, said the strikes would continue to target senior Iranian officials.

“Iran’s leaders live with a sense of being targeted…We will continue to hunt them down one by one,” Katz said.

Ceasefire efforts, Hormuz tensions

The escalation comes as mediators from Egypt, Pakistan, and Turkey proposed a 45-day ceasefire, including the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, according to two regional officials cited by AP.

Neither Iran nor the United States has publicly responded to the proposal.

Meanwhile, US President, Donald Trump, has warned Tehran to reopen the strategic waterway, threatening further strikes on infrastructure if it fails to comply.

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day… in Iran,” Trump wrote on social media.

Iranian officials rejected the ultimatum, with parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf calling the threats “reckless.”

The Strait of Hormuz is a key global energy route through which about 20% of the world’s oil supply passes in peacetime.

Casualties rise across region

Iranian authorities said at least 15 people were killed in a strike near Eslamshahr, southwest of Tehran, while additional casualties were reported in Qom and other cities.

Three more people were killed in a residential strike in Tehran, according to state television.

Since the start of the conflict, more than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran, though official figures have not been updated in recent days.

Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia has provided Iran with satellite intelligence on more than 50 Israeli energy grid targets to assist in ongoing strikes. The data shared by Moscow covers approximately 50 to 53 sites, all of which are part of Israel’s civilian infrastructure with no military purpose, Zelensky stated. He drew a direct parallel between these actions and Russia’s long-standing campaign against Ukraine’s power and water systems.

President Trump said he suspended his plan to strike Iran’s power plants, citing what he called progress in negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump’s Saturday ultimatum to launch attacks if Iran doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours — and the Iranian threats to retaliate against electricity infrastructure in Israel and Gulf countries —raised the potential for a dramatic escalation.

U.S. stock futures, which had been falling earlier in the morning, suddenly surged on Trump’s post, and oil prices fell.

In an all caps post on Truth Social on Monday morning Trump wrote that the U.S. and Iran have had “very good and productive conversation” over the last two days that focused on ending hostilities in the region.

“BASED ON THE TENOR AND TONE OF THESE IN DEPTH, DETAILED, AND CONSTRUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS, WITCH WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE WEEK, I HAVE INSTRUCTED THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR TO POSTPONE ANY AND ALL MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRANIAN POWER PLANTS AND ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A FIVE DAY PERIOD, SUBJECT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE ONGOING MEETINGS AND DISCUSSIONS,” Trump wrote.

Iran’s foreign ministry said there had been no talks between Iran and the U.S., though some countries in the region were attempting to reduce tensions.

Source: axios.com