US war latest: Trump backs down and agrees ceasefire with Tehran hours after threatening ‘death of civilization’

Israel backs ceasefire deal but says it 'does not include Lebanon', while Iran-linked militias also say they will halt fighting

US war latest: Trump backs down and agrees ceasefire with Tehran hours after threatening ‘death of civilization’
US war latest: Trump backs down and agrees ceasefire with Tehran hours after threatening ‘death of civilization’ Photo: The Independent

Israel backs ceasefire deal but says it 'does not include Lebanon', while Iran-linked militias also say they will halt fighting
The US and Iran have agreed to a two-week ceasefire hours after President Donald Trump threatened to wipe Iranian civilisation off the map .

Trump claimed America won a "total ⁠and complete victory" ⁠after making the agreement, which will force Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz .

Both sides have framed the ceasefire as a win, with the announcement bringing oil prices below $100 for the first time in days.

Hailing the action as a “big day for world peace”, Trump said the move would usher in a new “golden age” for the Middle East.

“We received a 10 point proposal from Iran , and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate,” Trump wrote, later adding: “There will be lots of positive action!

Big money will be made.”
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed the ceasefire, saying: “If attacks against Iran are halted, our Powerful Armed Forces will cease their defensive operations.”
Israel said it accepted the ceasefire and “supports President Trump's decision to suspend strikes against Iran”.

However, it added that the ceasefire "does not include Lebanon", where defence minister Israel Katz said last week his forces would continue their occupation.

Iran and Oman to charge for Strait of Hormuz passage
Iran and Oman will charge a fee to allow ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route through which one fifth of the world’s oil and gas passes.

The waterway was effectively closed after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps laid claim to the region and threatened to set fire to transiting vessels.

A regional official told the Associated Press on Wednesday that Iran would use the money for reconstruction but it is not immediately clear what Oman would be using the money for.

No tolls had been paid previously.

Trump and Netanyahu spoke about Iran ceasefire overnight, says Wall Street Journal
President Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the US-Iran ceasefire overnight, a person familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal.

Netanyahu welcomed the decision to halt hostilities but said that Israel would continue to attack Lebanon.

Israeli strikes hit Tyre in Lebanon after Israel issues evacuation orders
An Israeli strike has struck the Abbasiyeh neighbourhood of Tyre, Lebanon’s fifth largest city, after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders on Wednesday.

Residents of the city were ordered to evacuate immediately and move north of the Zahrani river after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the US-Iran ceasefire announced earlier would not apply to Israeli action in Lebanon.

Over 1,500 people have been killed since the onset of Israel’s military action.

France's Macron calls for Lebanon to be included in ceasefire
President Emmanuel Macron called for Lebanon to be included in a US-Iran ceasefire on Wednesday.

At the start of his meeting on defence with advisers and members of his cabinet, he said that the situation in Lebanon remained critical and called for the country to be included in the deal.

Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif had said that the ceasefire included Israeli attacks on Lebanon but Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israeli strikes on the country would continue.

Israeli opposition leader hits out at Netanyahu's 'political disaster' after ceasefire agreement
Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid has appeared to brand a US-Iran ceasefire the biggest “political disaster” in all of the country’s history.

The centrist leader criticised Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said it would take “years to repair the political and strategic damage that Netanyahu wrought due to arrogance, negligence and a lack of strategic planning.”
“There has never been such a political disaster in all of our history,” Lapid wrote in a post on X on Wednesday.

“Israel wasn't even at the table when decisions were made concerning the core of our national security.

“The military carried out everything that was asked of it, the public demonstrated amazing resilience, but Netanyahu failed politically, failed strategically, and didn't meet a single one of the goals that he himself set.”
Smoke rises from a building in Iraq after airstrikes
Breaking: UK prime minister Starmer to hold talks with Gulf partners on reopening Strait of Hormuz as he welcomes ceasefire
Prime minister Keir Starmer will travel to the Middle East on Wednesday in order to hold talks with Gulf partners on reopening the Strait of Hormuz permanently after a temporary US-Iran ceasefire agreement.

“I welcome the ceasefire agreement reached overnight, which will bring a moment of relief to the region and the world,” Starmer said in a statement.

Starmer heads to Gulf as he says he will ‘support US-Iran ceasefire’
Germany welcomes ceasefire in Iran conflict
German foreign minister Johann Wadephul this morning ⁠welcomed the two-week ceasefire the US and ⁠Iran ​agreed on ⁠Tuesday."
I welcome the ⁠decision by ​the ⁠warring parties ‌to agree to a ceasefire ‌in the Iran ‌war," the minister ⁠wrote on X.

"This must be the crucial first step towards lasting peace, for ‌the ​consequences of ‌the ⁠war continuing ⁠would be incalculable," he ‌said.

Iran claims victory against 'criminal America'
Iran has claimed strategic victory over the US and Israel and pushed back against Donald Trump on his ceasefire remarks.

Iran's Supreme National Security Council last night said it had accepted a two-week ceasefire in the war with the US and Israel.

"The enemy has suffered an undeniable, historic and crushing defeat in its cowardly, illegal and criminal war against the Iranian nation," it said in a statement.

It said Iran achieved a "great victory and forced the criminal America to accept its 10-point plan".

Trump earlier today claimed "total and ‌complete victory" in his war against Iran.

Bahrain says it extinguished blaze caused by Iranian strike
It added that there have been no injuries.

Bahrain sounded its missile alert sirens this morning, hours after the US and Iran said they reached a two-week ceasefire in the war for negotiations.

It wasn’t clear from the ceasefire announcement when it would begin, even though Pakistan's prime minister announced it was "effective immediately".

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