Iran and US agree to conditional ceasefire and opening of Hormuz strait — BBC News

[0:00] Both the U.S. and Iran say they've agreed to a two-week ceasefire, [0:04] as I've been saying. [0:04] Just to reiterate that, U.S. President Donald Trump said [0:07] he is suspending his latest deadline for Iran to strike a deal [0:10] or face U.S. military escalation. [0:13] The president wrote on Truth Social that after a conversation [0:17] with the Pakistani prime minister who proposed the deal [0:19] subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the complete, [0:23] immediate and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz, [0:26] I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks. [0:31] This will be a double-sided ceasefire. [0:35] Iranian state media claims the U.S. has agreed to their 10-point peace plan [0:38] that includes complete and permanent end to the war, [0:41] reopening the Strait of Hormuz, compensation and reconstruction payments to Iran, [0:45] full commitment to lifting of sanctions on Iran. [0:49] Iran fully commits to not seeking possession of any nuclear weapons [0:53] was something that the U.S. had. [0:56] This, as we've been saying, is a rapidly developing story [1:02] and we are still picking up more reactions. [1:04] Getting you the latest now from Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif [1:09] who has just put out a post on X. [1:11] And this is what it says. [1:13] With great humility, I am pleased to announce that the Islamic Republic of Iran [1:18] and the United States of America, along with their allies, [1:21] have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere, [1:25] including Lebanon. [1:26] And elsewhere, effective immediately. [1:29] I warmly welcome the sagacious gesture [1:31] and extend deepest gratitude to the leadership of both countries [1:35] and invite their delegations to Islamabad on Friday, 10th April, 2026 [1:41] to further negotiate for a conclusive agreement to settle all disputes. [1:47] Both parties have displayed remarkable wisdom and understanding [1:51] and have remained constructively engaged in furthering the cause of peace [1:55] and stability. [1:56] We earnestly hope that the Islamabad talks [2:00] succeed in achieving sustainable peace [2:03] and wish to share more good news in the coming days. [2:07] That is from the Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif. [2:11] Remember, Pakistan has projected itself, [2:14] positioned itself as a crucial mediator in these conversations. [2:18] For more, let's go across to Khashar Junaidi, [2:20] our Washington correspondent for BBC Persian. [2:23] Khashar, good to have you once again. [2:25] Before we get into the conversation, [2:26] let's get into what we are likely to see. [2:28] What more are you picking up from Iran, from Tehran, [2:31] as far as their official reaction? [2:34] Well, the government and state media are portraying this [2:37] as a big victory for the regime. [2:41] The statement put out by the Supreme National Security Council of Iran [2:46] says that Iran has reached almost all of its objectives in this war. [2:51] The enemy is facing a historic failure. [2:54] And then refers that Iran had put out a 10-point plan, [2:58] a peace plan that the U.S. has accepted. [3:00] Of course, they're going to negotiate about this. [3:02] This is what the Iranians are arguing, [3:04] that Iran will have a control over the traffic in the Hormuz Strait. [3:12] There will be a ceasefire, a total ceasefire, [3:15] regarding all of the fighting between Israel and Iran's proxies. [3:21] The U.S. should leave all bases in the region [3:24] and compensation should be paid to Iran. [3:26] And of course, the Iranian media are also adding that, [3:29] part of that 10-point deal is lifting of all sanctions [3:32] and ending of all hostilities. [3:35] The Supreme National Security Council says that [3:37] amid a lack of trust on the American side [3:41] and the Iranian side, mutual trust, [3:44] talks will start resuming Islamabad-Pakistan from Friday. [3:50] And it's going to be for two weeks. [3:52] And they've said that if the talks are successful, [3:55] the two-week ceasefire could be extended. [3:57] But one other thing. [4:00] This is, amid this statement and this posing that we are the victor, [4:08] there is another point that is very important for the Iranian government. [4:12] This war started with the killing of Ali Khamenei, [4:16] the leader of the Islamic Republic, [4:18] and senior generals within the IRGC. [4:21] This was an existential threat, existential war for the regime. [4:26] Therefore, they would consider themselves victorious [4:29] because they were the victors. [4:30] Because they survived this 30-plus days of war [4:34] with the United States and Israel. [4:38] Khashoggi, I want to go back to some of those points that you mentioned, [4:42] the 10-point plan. [4:44] Iran has been categorical in its demands, [4:47] but a lot of those points that they have talked about [4:49] have been unacceptable to the U.S. in the past. [4:51] How difficult or complex are these conversations going to be in Pakistan [4:55] for both sides to find common ground, [4:57] to agree, given that they are also operating [5:01] in an environment where there is a lot of conflict, [5:01] in an environment of a serious trust deficit? [5:05] Well, that's true. [5:06] That's true. [5:07] There's a deficit of trust. [5:08] Iran and the U.S. have negotiated twice in the past year, [5:12] and both times in the middle of negotiations a war has started. [5:18] The demands of Iran, [5:20] no matter how victorious they are portraying themselves in state media, [5:25] Iran is in a very weak position. [5:27] Its army has been heavily battered. [5:30] Its economy is in shambles. [5:32] The regime has an unfinished business with the opposition and the people. [5:37] Look, the government has started executing some of those people [5:41] who were arrested during the protests in January in the past few days, [5:45] and we've had one or two executions every day. [5:49] So the regime at the same time has to harden its grip on power [5:55] inside the country as well. [5:57] It's in a bad situation, [5:58] but at the same time, its demands are, [6:02] I think, very difficult for the Americans to address. [6:05] The U.S. says it's accepted to ceasefire under the condition that there will be free traffic, [6:13] free flow of traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. [6:16] Iran is mentioning that it wants to have control over maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz [6:24] because of its geographic locations. [6:26] That's number one. [6:27] There is going to be difficult negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, [6:32] the Iranian state media are saying that the U.S. has agreed to an enrichment in Iran. [6:40] The U.S. has said it wants no enrichment being done in Iran. [6:46] So there are going to be very difficult negotiations. [6:48] It's going to be a very hard two weeks. [6:50] Khashoggi, very briefly before I let you go, [6:53] I know it's still early, [6:55] but have you managed to have any conversations with people in Iran? [6:59] Any reactions you're picking up from the people there after this announcement? [7:03] Yes. [7:04] It's been a long night for Iranians. [7:05] Many people were anticipating heavy American bombardment of the power plants, the roads, [7:12] the bridges. [7:13] As the president had announced, they were all waiting for the deadline, which was like [7:17] half past three in the morning in Tehran. [7:20] So the announcement came around one o'clock in the morning in Tehran, and many people [7:26] were awake waiting for the attacks. [7:30] There are mixed reactions. [7:32] There is a sense of relief. [7:33] Yes. [7:34] In the past few days, people were buying groceries and food and storing water, buying [7:41] candles because they were afraid that there will be no electricity. [7:45] They have now some sort of relief that the power plants are not going to be attacked. [7:51] At the same time, many of the people who were against the regime, who opposed the regime, [7:57] believe that this war, amid all of its horror and its damages, will result in a regime change. [8:04] That hasn't happened. [8:05] They have to stay. [8:06] Now they are going to be dealing with a regime who has been injured in this war, who the [8:14] economy is broken. [8:15] The regime is more angry, and they have to face this regime again. [8:16] Khosher Junaidiga, thank you very much for your time and speaking to us. [8:17] Meanwhile, more news coming in. [8:18] Israel says it's tracking a barrage of incoming missiles from Iran. [8:19] These are the skies over Tel Aviv, and we are getting ready for the next one. [8:20] We're going to be back in a moment. [8:21] We'll be back in a moment. [8:22] We'll be back in a moment. [8:23] We'll be back in a moment. [8:24] We'll be back in a moment. [8:25] We'll be back in a moment. [8:27] We'll be back in a moment. [8:28] We'll be back in a moment. [8:29] We'll be back in a moment. [8:30] These are the missiles from Iran. [8:32] These are the skies over Tel Aviv. [8:34] And we are getting reports of three rounds of Iranian strikes towards Israel, with loud [8:41] booms reported by our teams in Jerusalem. [8:45] Axios is reporting, US officials believe it could take a while for Iranian armed forces [8:50] to receive the message to stop those strikes. [8:54] So at least that is what we're picking up at the moment. [8:57] But we'll keep a close watch on developments on that front. [9:00] front soon after the announcement of that ceasefire. Well, joining me live is Colonel Mark [9:06] Kansian, Senior Advisor with the Defense and Security Department at the Center for Strategic [9:10] and International Studies. Thank you very much for your time here on BBC News. Well, we have been [9:16] talking at length about the diplomatic progress so far. Do you feel, given everything that we've [9:21] seen and what we are likely to see, this is or could lead to some sort of resolution? [9:27] Uh, we've heard a lot of speculation from the various commentators that it's very uncertain [9:35] at this point. We may end up in just a frozen conflict, that is, that we have ceasefires that [9:43] are just repeated, and we end up in the same situation that we are now. It's important, [9:49] I think, to step back and look at the military situation and recognize that militarily, [9:56] Iran has taken a terrible beating. [9:58] It has not come out of the war stronger, but the United States has also been frustrated [10:04] with its inability to keep the strait open. What do you think changed in the last few [10:11] hours behind the scenes as both sides contemplated de-escalation? [10:16] I think on the U.S. side, President Trump has always been looking for a way to negotiate out [10:22] of the conflict. He recognizes, I think, that the Iranians have been quite determined to not [10:29] give in to... [10:30] pressure from military attacks. And it may be that the Iranians have decided that there's [10:37] an opportunity here to end the attacks, but still maybe control the strait. Of course, [10:44] it's very hard to say, because we don't know what they have agreed to, if anything. [10:50] And, you know, I think you're right, because it is still likely to be on shaky ground, [10:55] because we've seen the kind of statements in the past from both sides, as they have disagreed on [11:01] issues. How difficult is it going to be for both sides to find common ground as they go ahead, [11:07] as the Prime Minister of Pakistan suggests, meeting in Islamabad? [11:10] I think it's essentially impossible. Now, it's possible that President Trump just decides that [11:21] what we have now is good enough. He's inflicted tremendous damage on, for example, [11:27] the Iranian nuclear program. We did a lot back last year when we attacked the nuclear facilities. [11:33] We attacked more of them. That doesn't prevent them from building a nuclear capability, but it does [11:38] set them back. We've essentially destroyed their Navy and their Air Force. Their ballistic missile [11:46] capability has been basically destroyed, their ability to produce more. Most of their inventory [11:53] has been either destroyed or buried. So militarily, they're in a very weak position. However, [12:00] they've been able to control the strait. That's a very, very difficult situation. [12:03] It's been a tremendous military success for them and a tremendous military failure for [12:07] the United States. That's why so much of this discussion has focused on the strait. [12:14] Some might put up a counter-argument, Colonel Kansian, that Iran has really been able to draw [12:20] out this war and displayed and demonstrated firepower that perhaps the U.S. had not anticipated, [12:25] given the developments we've seen, downing of American aircraft. How would you respond to that? [12:29] I don't think that's true. [12:35] The United States and Israel have been launching about 700 strikes a day in Iran. The only reason [12:42] that people have the impression is that TV cameras are not allowed in Iran, but you see everything [12:48] that happens in Israel and the Gulf states. So the impression that people get, I think, [12:53] is very skewed. Iran has taken a tremendous beating from the bombings. [12:59] Given how high the rhetoric has been, what do you think the talks are likely to look like [13:04] in the days and weeks ahead? [13:08] It's very unclear. It could be that the two sides just argue with each other and that the [13:15] ceasefire just goes on and on and on after the two weeks, extended another two weeks. [13:22] The Iranians have been very skilled in extending the negotiations. They know that President Trump [13:30] is very real, almost desperate to get a agreement. So they keep leading the [13:38] discussion on and demanding concessions in order to continue negotiations. And that's worked pretty [13:45] well so far. [13:47] If this had indeed escalated, what do you think retaliation would have looked like? And what were [13:52] the risks in place for the U.S. that it was contemplating before going ahead with any [13:56] decision? [13:58] Well, the United States and Israel together have immense firepower and they can bring it to bear [14:03] anywhere they want in Iran. If they wanted to obliterate, for example, the oil industry, [14:08] they could do that. [14:10] There are many reasons why they wouldn't want to do that. The Iranians always retaliate when they [14:16] are struck, but their ability to do that has been much reduced. The number of missile and [14:23] drone attacks have declined 90 percent from the high levels of the first couple of days of the war. [14:29] They would probably surge some attacks, but their ability to affect the daily life in the Gulf, [14:38] the economic life in the Gulf, [14:40] or the military situation is limited. But you would see some fairly dramatic footage on the video. And that would give, I [14:51] think, people the impression that the Gulf states and the United States were suffering. They don't see what's [14:58] happening in Israel.