Kumar Bahukhandi
Demonstrators protest against military action in Iran after U.S. President Donald Trump said that he had agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, outside the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on April 7, 2026. | Photo Credit: Reuters
Trump says U.S. will work closely with Iran, which, he claims, has undergone “regime change,” and will be talking about tariff and sanctions relief; he says there would be no enrichment of uranium and said many of the 15 points in the U.S. plan proposed to Iran have been agreed to
U.S. President Donald Trump pulled back on his threats to launch devastating strikes on Iran late on Tuesday April 7, 2026, swerving to de-escalate the war less than two hours before the deadline he set for Tehran to capitulate or face a major escalation.
He said he had come to the decision “based on conversations” with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Gen Asim Munir.
Tehran said on Wednesday April 8. 2026 its 10-point plan for securing an end to the war with the United States would require Washington to accept its uranium enrichment program and the lifting of all sanctions.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday April 8, 2026 that the United States, Iran and their allies had agreed to a ceasefire “everywhere”
Trump said on Saturday April 4, 2026 that Tehran had 48 hours left to cut a deal or face “all Hell”, as U.S. and Iranian forces scrambled to find a downed American airman, adding, later, on Tuesday April 7, 2026, that “a whole civilisation will die” if Iran does not accept his deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz before his 8 p.m. deadline.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi raised “ceasefire violations” by Israel with Pakistani mediators, an Iranian Ministry statement said, as reports citing senior officials warned that Tehran could pull out of the truce over attacks on Lebanon.
Araghchi “discussed the Zionist regime’s violations of the ceasefire in Iran and Lebanon”, referring to Israel, in a call with the powerful Pakistani military leader Field Marshal Asim Munir, the statement said.
Reports from Iranian media and Al Jazeera citing Iranian officials and well-informed sources said Tehran was prepared to withdraw from the ceasefire and retaliate over Israel’s bombardments of Lebanon.
“Iran will withdraw from the agreement if Israel continues to violate the ceasefire in its attack on Lebanon,” Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported, citing a well-informed source.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards vowed on Telegram to “punish Israel for the atrocities it has committed in Lebanon and violating ceasefire conditions”.
The Al Jazeera telelvision channel also quoted an unnamed Iranian official saying “the ceasefire includes the region, and Israel is known for breaking promises and will only be deterred by bullets.”
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the ceasefire applied “everywhere” including Lebanon, as he announced Islamabad would host delegations from the United States and Iran for talks later this week.
However, Israel has insisted that Lebanon is not included in the ceasefire, and the Israeli military said it carried out its “largest coordinated strike across Lebanon” on Wednesday April 8, 2026 .
Pak PM Sharif said on Wednesday April 8, 2026 that ceasefire violations between the United States and Iran “have been reported” and he pressed countries to respect the truce.
(Source – AFP)
