Continued from P1
Meanwhile, global oil prices have fallen sharply, and stock markets soared after the US and Iran agreed to a conditional two-week ceasefire deal that includes the reopening of the key Strait of Hormuz waterway.
The price of benchmark Brent tumbled more than 15% to less than $92 (£68.4) a barrel, while US-traded oil fell similarly to just under $94. But oil prices remain higher than before the conflict started on 28 February. At the time, it was trading at around $70 a barrel.
In the streets of Tehran, pro-government demonstrators screamed: “Death to America, death to Israel, death to compromisers!” after the ceasefire announcement and burned American and Israeli flags.
The chants underscored the anger animating hard-liners, who have been preparing for what many assumed would be an apocalyptic battle with the United States. Trump warned Tuesday that “a whole civilization will die tonight,” if a deal wasn’t reached.
Trump initially said Iran proposed a “workable” 10-point plan that could help end the war the U.S. launched with Israel on Feb. 28. But when a version in Farsi emerged that indicated Iran would be allowed to continue enriching uranium — which is key to building a nuclear weapon — Trump called it fraudulent without elaborating. Vance later said the deal was being misrepresented within Iran, though he did not offer details.
Iran’s demands for ending the war include a withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from the region, the lifting of sanctions, and the release of its frozen assets.
In his post on Wednesday, Trump said: “We are, and will be, talking Tariff and Sanctions relief with Iran.”
It was not clear if other Western nations would agree to that, and the other points are likely nonstarters. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres’s personal envoy arrived in Iran for talks on “the way forward.”
Pakistan said talks to hammer out a permanent end to the war could begin in Islamabad as soon as Friday.
Israel backed the US ceasefire with Iran, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal does not cover fighting against Hezbollah.
Israeli Chief of Staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir said Israel will continue to “utilize every operational opportunity” to strike Hezbollah. The Israeli military said it struck more than 100 targets within 10 minutes Wednesday across Lebanon, the largest wave of strikes since March 1.
Hezbollah has not confirmed if it will abide by the ceasefire, though the group has said it was open to giving mediators a chance to secure an agreement. An official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said the group would not stop firing at Israel unless Israel agreed to do the same.
While Iran could not match the sophistication of US and Israeli weaponry or their dominance in the air, its ability to control the Strait of Hormuz proved a tremendous strategic advantage. Iranian attacks and threats deterred many commercial ships from passing through the waterway, through which 20% of all traded oil and natural gas passes in peacetime.
That roiled the world economy and raised the pressure on Trump both at home and abroad to find a way out of the standoff. The ceasefire may formalize a system of charging fees in the strait that Iran instituted — and give it a new source of revenue. The plan allows for both Iran and Oman to charge ships, according to a regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss negotiations they were directly involved in. The official said Iran would use the money it raised for reconstruction.