The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire Tuesday barely an hour before President Donald Trump’s deadline to obliterate the rival country was set to expire, with Tehran to temporarily reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz.
After more than a month of blistering attacks by the United States and Israel, Iran cast the ceasefire as a victory and said it had agreed to talks with Washington to begin Friday in Pakistan on a path to end the conflict.
Both sides claimed to have won the more than month-long conflict that has roiled global financial markets and sent oil prices skyrocketing, with Trump telling AFP the deal was a “total and complete victory” for the US.
Iran too cast the ceasefire as a win and said it had agreed to talks with Washington to begin Friday in Pakistan on a path to end the conflict.
“The enemy has suffered an undeniable, historic and crushing defeat in its cowardly, illegal and criminal war against the Iranian nation,” said a statement from the Iranian Supreme National Security Council.
“Iran achieved a great victory.”
The White House said Israel had also agreed to the ceasefire, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it does not include Lebanon, where Israeli assaults in response to rocket fire by Iranian-backed Hezbollah have led to more than 1,500 deaths, according to Lebanese authorities.