Iran, the United States and Israel said they reached a deal for a two-week ceasefire, with Tehran saying it would negotiate with the United States in Islamabad beginning Friday
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DUBAI (AP) — Iran, the United States and Israel said they reached a deal for a two-week ceasefire, with Tehran saying it would negotiate with the United States in Islamabad beginning Friday.
Trump initially said Iran proposed a “workable” 10-point plan, but he later called the plan fraudulent without elaborating.
Trump's threats to launch devastating strikes on Iran hit a new extreme hours before the ceasefire when he warned, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again," if Iran failed to make a deal that included reopening the vital Strait of Hormuz.
In a statement Wednesday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said it supports Trump's decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks, but that it doesn't include the war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, where more than 1,500 people have been killed.
Trump warns 'whole civilization will die tonight' if deal with Iran isn't reached
Here is the latest:
Multiple airstrikes hit Beirut
A series of Israeli strikes hit several areas in central Beirut Wednesday without warning, the state-run National News Agency reported.
Loud booms could be heard throughout the city and smoke was rising from several points.
It was not immediately clear what was targeted, but several of the strikes were in busy commercial locations.
Since the outbreak of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war on March 2, Israel has regularly struck southern and eastern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs but rarely in the center of Beirut.
There was no immediate report on the number of casualties.
The strikes came hours after a ceasefire was announced in the US-Israeli war with Iran. Israel has said the agreement does not extend to Lebanon, although mediator Pakistan said it does.
Trump says US will work with Iran to dig up enriched uranium, Iran does not confirm
US President Donald Trump said Wednesday the US will work with Iran to “dig up and remove” its enriched uranium that was buried under joint US-Israeli strikes last summer.
Trump said on social media, “There will be no enrichment of Uranium” and that none of the material had been touched since the June attacks.
He previously said the US would retrieve the deeply buried material, which is expected to be an intensive undertaking, if it struck an agreement with Iran.
“We are, and will be, talking Tariff and Sanctions relief with Iran,” Trump said.
Through Trump had said Tuesday the US found a 10-point ceasefire proposal from Iran “workable”, the president on Wednesday suggested many of the points in his 15-point plan, which Iran had rejected, had been agreed to.
Iran has not said that, nor has confirmed it would work with the US to retrieve the buried uranium.
German government dampens hopes of lower fuel prices
The government in Europe's biggest economy is calling for “realistic expectations” after the ceasefire announcement.
German officials say their country doesn't have a supply problem but point to the effect of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on the global market.
Government spokesperson Sebastian Hille noted “significant setbacks” are possible at any time in the peace process, damaged production facilities need to be repaired, reopening the strait will take time and ships will take weeks to make their journeys.
He said it will take time for significant price reductions to show up.
Turkey discusses ceasefire in call with Iran
During a call Wednesday with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan expressed Turkey's satisfaction with the planned two-week pause in fighting.
He also stated Turkey, which has been involved in efforts to end the war, would keep working toward a permanent peace.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the ceasefire should be implemented fully and shielded from possible “provocations and sabotage.”
“It is our genuine wish that our geography, which has suffered greatly from war, conflict, tension, and oppression, will soon achieve peace, tranquility, and stability,” Erdogan said in a message posted on X.
Russia supports move away from escalation
Speaking about the ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia “from the very beginning spoke about the need for swiftly shifting this escalation onto a peaceful track, onto a track of political and diplomatic contacts, negotiations”.
Peskov said “given yesterday's rather harsh statements from different sides, which elicited a lot of emotions around the world,” Moscow welcomed the news.
“We welcome the decision not to follow the path of military escalation further, not to carry out strikes on civilian targets,” Peskov said. “We consider this to be very important.”
The Kremlin spokesman expressed hope that “each side will be able to defend its interests not through armed intervention, but at the negotiating table.”
Pope calls ceasefire a sign of hope
At the end of his weekly general audience Wednesday, Pope Leo XIV called the ceasefire a “sign of true hope” and repeated a call for the faithful to join him in a peace prayer vigil Saturday in St. Peter's Basilica. The previous day, the pope condemned US President Donald Trump's threat to destroy Iranian civilisation as “truly unacceptable” and said that any attacks on civilian infrastructure would violate international law.
Meanwhile, Italy's foreign minister welcomed the ceasefire as a positive sign for both peace in the Mideast and the Italian economy. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani wrote on social media: “Iran cannot be allowed to possess nuclear weapons, and it is right that the US does not bomb the civilian population.”
Hezbollah giving mediators opportunity to secure ceasefire
A Hezbollah official says the militant group backed by Iran is giving a chance for mediators to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon.
In the meantime, the official said, “We have not announced our adherence to the ceasefire since the Israelis are not adhering to it.”
He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment publicly.
Israel has said the agreement reached to halt the US-Israeli war with Iran does not extend to its war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, although Pakistan, which mediated the agreement, said the two-week cessation of hostilities included Lebanon.
The Hezbollah official said the group will not accept a return to the pre-March 2 status quo, when Israel carried out near-daily strikes in Lebanon despite a ceasefire being nominally in place since the last full-blown Israel-Hezbollah war ended in November 2024.
“We will not accept for the Israelis to continue behaving as they did before this war with regards to attacks,” he said. “We do not want this phase to continue.”
375 people detained in Abu Dhabi
Authorities in the United Arab Emirates said police have detained 375 people across the capital, Abu Dhabi, over the course of the war.
Abu Dhabi police said the people are from various countries and were detained for filming and “disseminating false information” on social media.
It said the cases have been referred to prosecutors for allegations of violating the UAE's laws aimed at “protecting the society.”
Gulf countries have cracked down on people who have filmed impacted sites throughout the war, with hundreds detained, including migrant workers.
Lebanese president and Kuwait hope ceasefire leads to comprehensive settlement
Lebanon President Joseph Aoun said he hopes the two-week agreement is a “first step” toward final and comprehensive agreements for regional crises.
Israel and the Hezbollah militant group are at war in Lebanon and Israel denies they are part of the agreement, while mediators Pakistan and Egypt as well as France say Lebanon is included.
“The President affirmed the Lebanese state's ongoing efforts to ensure regional peace encompasses Lebanon in a sustainable manner, based on the principles agreed upon by the Lebanese people” Auon's statement said.
He called on Israeli forces to withdraw from Lebanese territory and for Hezbollah and other non-state groups to disarm.
“The complete sovereignty of the state over all its territory, its liberation from any occupying presence, and the exclusive right to declare war and peace and to use legitimate force, solely in the hands of its constitutional institutions.”
Separately, Kuwait said it hopes the ceasefire will lead to a “comprehensive and permanent settlement.”
The foreign ministry in Kuwait, which is one of the nations that has been most impacted by Iranian attacks, called for adhering to the ceasefire to pave the way for dialogue between the warring parties, according to the state-run Kuwait News Agency.
Pakistan says Iran confirms attendance at talks with US
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Wednesday that Iran has confirmed it will attend talks with the United States on Friday in Islamabad.
It was not immediately clear who would represent Tehran at the negotiations.
Sharif's office said he spoke for more than 45 minutes with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, thanking Iran's leadership for agreeing to a ceasefire and accepting Pakistan's offer to host the talks.
Pezeshkian thanked Pakistan for its efforts and conveyed his best wishes to the country's people, the office said.
Saudi Arabia calls for unrestricted transit through Strait of Hormuz
Saudi Arabia welcomed the ceasefire deal between the US and Iran and called for unrestricted opening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Riyadh supports efforts to achieve a permanent deal that addresses “all issues that have resulted in instability and insecurity over the past decades”.
The statement called for keeping the Strait of Hormuz open according to UN agreements governing international waterways “without any restrictions”.
Iran says Lavan Island refinery came under attack after ceasefire announced
An oil refinery on Iran's Lavan Island came under attack Wednesday, hours after a ceasefire in the war was announced, Iranian state television reported.
The report said the attack came at 10 a.m.
It added that firefighters were working to contain the blaze but no one had been hurt.
It did not say who launched the attack.