Trump pulls back on Iran threat for two weeks subject to agreement on ceasefire

US president Donald Trump had previously threatened that a ‘whole civilization will die tonight’. Picture: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

US President Donald Trump said late Tuesday that he is pulling back on his threats to attack Iranian bridges, power plants and other civilian targets, subject to Iran agreeing to a two-week ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Mr Trump also said Iran has proposed a “workable” 10-point peace plan that could help end war the US and Israel launched on February 28.

In a post on his social media site, Mr Trump said Iran could agree “to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz” and said that he would then “suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks”.

Mr Trump had previously threatened on Tuesday that a “whole civilisation will die tonight” if Iran fails to meet his latest deadline to strike a deal that includes reopening the strait through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported during peacetime.

But since the war began, Mr Trump has repeatedly backed off of deadlines just before they expire.

The president said in his social media post that Iran has presented “a workable basis on which to negotiate”.

Bystanders watch as rescue teams work at the site of a strike in Tehran, Iran (Francisco Seco/AP)

“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,” Mr Trump said.

Mr Trump’s expansive threat on Tuesday did not seem to account for potential harm to civilians, prompting Democrats in Congress, some United Nations officials and scholars in military law to say such strikes would violate international law.

Tehran’s representative at the UN, Amir-Saeid Iravani, said the threats “constitute incitement to war crimes and potentially genocide” and that Iran would “take immediate and proportionate reciprocal measures” if Mr Trump launches devastating strikes.

(PA Graphics)

The US and Israel have battered Iran with attacks targeting its military capabilities, leadership and nuclear programme. Iran has responded with a stream of strikes on Israel and Gulf Arab neighbours, causing regional chaos and outsized economic and political shock.

Late Tuesday, Pakistan’s prime minister urged Mr Trump to extend his deadline by two weeks to allow diplomacy to advance. In a post on X, Shehbaz Sharif, whose country has been leading negotiations, also asked Iran to open up for two weeks the Strait of Hormuz.

Before the deadline, air strikes hit two bridges and a train station, and the U.S. hit military infrastructure on Kharg Island, a key hub for Iranian oil production.