“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,” he said.
Also read: US-Iran ceasefire: Trump orders 2-week truce with Iran, Tehran says war not over
He further noted that this will be a double-sided ceasefire. “The reason for doing so is that we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Long-term PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East.”
“Total and complete victory. 100 percent. No question about it,” Trump said in a brief telephone interview with AFP after the announcement of the truce.
The ceasefire announcement comes a day after Iran submitted a 10-point peace plan to the US, which Trump believes is “a workable basis on which to negotiate.” He has agreed to almost all of the various points of the past contention, but said that a two-week period will allow the agreement to be finalized and consummated.
Also read: US-Iran peace talks expected Friday in Pakistan after Trump announces ceasefire
China intervention helped get Iran on board
Amid Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s mediation remarks, Trump said that he believes China got Iran to negotiate a ceasefire in the war against Israel and the United States.”I hear yes,” Trump told AFP when asked if Beijing was involved in getting key ally Tehran to negotiate on a truce.
Trump is due to travel to China in May to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.
US-Iran uranium deal
He also indicated that Iran’s uranium would be “perfectly taken care of” under the recently announced two-week ceasefire deal with Tehran.
“That will be perfectly taken care of or I wouldn’t have settled,” he told AFP when asked about what would happen to Iran’s enriched uranium.
Under the 10-point peace plan agreed to by the US President, Tehran proposed Washington’s acceptance for its uranium enrichment program and the lifting of all sanctions.
