Overview
- An 11th-hour truce announced Tuesday paused U.S. strikes for two weeks as Iran pledged safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and agreed to talks in Islamabad.
- Pakistan brokered the off-ramp, and President Trump said he held fire at Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s request on the condition that Hormuz be opened at once.
- Strikes that escalated before the deal hit bridges, rail lines and Kharg Island, and Israel acknowledged damage to a Tehran synagogue while some Israeli operations continued after the U.S. pause.
- Trump’s threats to destroy every bridge and power plant and his claim that “a whole civilization will die tonight” drew warnings from legal experts that such actions could constitute war crimes or even genocidal intent.
- Oil prices fell after the reopening pledge, yet Iran’s hard-line terms for any longer deal and vows of rapid retaliation from all sides signal a fragile pause that could snap if either party claims a breach.