After announcing a major bombing operation against Iranian infrastructure two days earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump stated yesterday evening that a two-week ceasefire with Iran has been agreed upon. The Times of Israel reports that the truce was mediated by Pakistan and is said to involve Iran, the United States, Israel, and Lebanon. Within hours of the announcement, Iran ceased firing rockets into Israel. However, IDF operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon are ongoing.
Some four hours later, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he supported what he depicted as a conditional ceasefire, dependent on the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, while also maintaining that it did not cover Lebanon. In a statement issued by his office, he also said he had been assured that the US remained committed, in the upcoming negotiations, to ensuring that “Iran no longer poses a nuclear, missile and terror threat to America, Israel, Iran’s Arab neighbors and the world.”
That followed a statement sent to reporters by a senior Israeli official saying that the US had “coordinated in advance” with Israel on the “temporary ceasefire.”
“Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and 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 in his Truth Social post, some 90 minutes before his 8 p.m. deadline for Iran to reopen Hormuz and agree to a US proposal for ending the war was set to expire.
Trump also stated that the United States has received a 10-point proposal from Iran, which will serve as the basis for negotiations that could potentially end the war that began on February 28. Israel has clarified that the ceasefire does not apply to Hezbollah, and airstrikes against the group were carried out this morning.
The Fellowship and its supporters praise God that, in this moment, a drastic escalation of violence has been avoided. We pray that Israel and her people may enter a new season of healing and that stability is restored to the region.
