US President Donald Trump said Washington “will work closely with Iran,” which “has gone through what will be a very productive regime change,” as a fragile two-week truce took effect on Wednesday.


ADVERTISEMENT


ADVERTISEMENT

In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, the US president said “there will be no enrichment of uranium, and the United States will, working with Iran, dig up and remove all of the deeply buried (B-2 bombers) nuclear ‘dust’,” likely referring to Tehran’s uranium stockpiles.

“It is now, and has been, under very exacting satellite surveillance (Space Force). Nothing has been touched from the date of attack.”

“We are, and will be, talking tariff and sanctions relief with Iran. Many of the 15 points have already been agreed to. Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Trump concluded.

The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire late on Tuesday night, barely an hour before Trump’s deadline for Iran to capitulate was set to expire.

Trump pulled back on earlier apocalyptic threats that a “whole civilisation will die” if Tehran failed to reach a deal, holding off on his ultimatum that was to result in attacks on Iranian bridges and power plants.

“Subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the complete, immediate, and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said it has accepted the ceasefire and would negotiate with the US in Islamabad beginning Friday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be allowed under Iranian military management. It was not immediately clear whether that meant Iran would completely loosen its chokehold on the waterway.

Neither Iran nor the United States said when the ceasefire would begin, and attacks took place in Israel, Iran and across the Gulf region early Wednesday.

However, US Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday welcomed a “fragile truce” with Iran, urging Tehran to negotiate in “good faith” to reach a long-term deal and warning Trump was “not one to mess around”.

“If the Iranians are willing in good faith to work with us, I think we can make an agreement,” Vance said during a visit to Budapest.

He added, if the Iranians were not to come to the negotiating table, “they’re going to find out that the president of the United States is not one to mess around. He’s impatient. He’s impatient to make progress.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it had agreed to the ceasefire but added it ‘did not include Lebanon’. According to the prime minister of Pakistan, which has been mediating talks, the ceasefire calls for Israel and Hezbollah to halt fighting in Lebanon.

In the version of its 10-point ceasefire plan released in Persian, Iran included the phrase “acceptance of enrichment” regarding uranium needed for its nuclear programme, but for reasons that remain unclear, that phrase was missing from English versions shared by Iranian diplomats with journalists.

Trump initially had said Iran proposed a “workable” 10-point plan to end the war, but he later called it fraudulent, without elaborating. Trump has said ending Iran’s nuclear programme entirely was a key point of the war.

Iran and Oman to collect shipping fees in Hormuz

The plan allows both Iran and Oman to charge fees on ships transiting the strait, according to a regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity about negotiations they were directly involved in.

The official said Tehran would use the money it raised for reconstruction.

In addition to control of the strait, Iran’s demands for ending the war include withdrawal of US combat forces from the region, the lifting of sanctions and the release of its frozen assets.

Oil prices plunged by more than 17% after the ceasefire announcement. Costs at the pump had risen sharply for ordinary Americans since the war, putting heavy political pressure on Trump. Stock prices also soared in early trade in Asia on Wednesday.

The US and Israel have struck Iran in daily air raids targeting its military capabilities, leadership and nuclear programme.

In turn, Iran launched missile and drone strikes on Israel and Gulf neighbours, causing regional chaos and outsized economic and political shock.

Strikes continue unabated

Before Trump’s deadline, airstrikes hit two bridges and a train station, and the US hit military infrastructure on Kharg Island, a key hub for Iranian oil production.

Even as the ceasefire was announced, missile alerts continued in the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait early Wednesday, hinting at the chaos surrounding the diplomatic moves.

A gas processing facility in Abu Dhabi was ablaze after incoming Iranian fire, officials said.

Israel was continuing its attacks on Iran, said an Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations. Iran also kept up the fire on Israel.

The US military has halted all offensive operations against Iran but continues defensive actions, said an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive military operations.

More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began, but the government has not updated the toll for days. The death toll could not be independently verified due to an internet and communications blackout in the country.

In Lebanon, where Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, more than 1,500 people have been killed and more than 1 million people have been displaced. Eleven Israeli soldiers have died there.

In Gulf states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 23 have been reported dead in Israel, and 13 US service members have been killed.