The Israeli military said it had carried out “the largest coordinated strike across Lebanon” since the start of the conflict.

This came hours after United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a two-week ceasefire in West Asia in exchange for Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran confirmed the ceasefire. The country’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Iranian forces will stop their “defensive operations” if the attacks on Iran are halted.

“For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations,” he said in a statement.

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Here are more top updates from the conflict in West Asia:

  • The announcements came about 90 minutes before a deadline set by Trump for Tehran to reach a deal with Washington to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier on Tuesday, Trump had warned that a “whole civilisation will die” in Iran if the country does not agree to a deal before the deadline.
  • In a social media post on Tuesday, Trump said that Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistani military chief Asim Munir had requested him to “hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran”.
  • Trump said that he was suspending the planned US attacks on Iran for two weeks subject to Iran “agreeing to the complete, immediate and safe opening” of the Strait of Hormuz.
  • This will be a double-sided ceasefire, Trump said. “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,” he said on social media.
  • Trump said that Washington had received a 10-point proposal from Iran, which it believed was a “workable basis on which to negotiate”. While “almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to” between Washington and Tehran, “a two-week period will allow the agreement to be finalised and consummated”, he said.
  • Iran’s 10-point proposal demands that the US accept its uranium enrichment programme and lift all primary and secondary sanctions, AFP reported. The plan also calls for “continued Iranian control” over the Strait of Hormuz and the withdrawal of the US military from West Asia.
  • “It is to be noted that the adoption of such a resolution shall render all these agreements binding under international law and shall constitute a significant diplomatic victory for the Iranian nation,” Iran’s Supreme National Security Council was quoted as saying in a statement.
  • Araghchi said that Iran’s Supreme National Security Council had agreed to the ceasefire “considering the request by the US for negotiations based on its 15-point proposal” and Trump’s announcement accepting the general framework of Tehran’s 10-point proposal as a basis for negotiations.
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Tel Aviv supports Trump’s decision to suspend the attacks on Iran, but added that the ceasefire “does not include Lebanon”.
  • This came after the Pakistani prime minister said that the ceasefire would include Lebanon. The statements by the US and Iran did not clarify whether the Israeli attacks on Lebanon will also halt. The cessation of the conflict on all fronts, including in Lebanon, is part of Tehran’s 10-point plan.
  • Later in the day, the Israeli military said that it completed in 10 minutes “the largest coordinated strike across Lebanon” since the start of the conflict. In a post on social media, it said that the strikes “targeted 100+ [Lebanese militant group] Hezbollah headquarters, military arrays & command-and-control centres” in Beirut, Beqaa and southern Lebanon. Hezbollah is backed by Iran.
  • Earlier, AP quoted an unidentified Israeli military officer as saying on Wednesday that Tel Aviv was still attacking Iran. Tehran had also continued to fire at Israel, the news agency reported.
  • The Pakistani prime minister invited the US and Iranian delegations to Islamabad on Friday “to further negotiate for a conclusive agreement to settle all disputes”.
  • In a post on Wednesday, Trump said that the US will “be helping with the traffic buildup” in the strait. “There will be lots of positive action!” he said, adding that Iran can “start the reconstruction process”. Trump further said that the US will be “just hangin’ around” to make sure that “everything goes well”.
  • Trump told AFP that he believes China helped nudge Iran to the negotiating table to agree to the ceasefire.
  • Following the ceasefire announcement, the price of benchmark Brent crude plunged to $92 per barrel on Wednesday from what was nearly $110 a day earlier. The price was $78 per barrel on February 27, a day before the conflict started.
  • The authorities in Abu Dhabi said on Wednesday that multiple fires had been reported at the Habshan gas-processing facility because of falling debris “following a successful interception by air defence systems”. Two Emiratis and one Indian suffered minor injuries, they added.
  • India’s Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday welcomed the ceasefire, adding that it hopes the agreement will bring lasting peace in West Asia. “The conflict has already caused immense suffering to people and disrupted global energy supply and trade networks,” ministry said. “We expect that unimpeded freedom of navigation and global flow of commerce would prevail through the Strait of Hormuz.”
  • The Indian embassy in Iran on Wednesday urged Indians who are still in Iran to “expeditiously exit” the country in coordination with the mission, using routes that have been suggested by the embassy. The advisory came a day after the embassy asked Indians in Iran to remain indoors and avoid being close to electric and military installations amid concerns that the conflict could escalate.

The war

The US and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28, claiming that Tehran’s action posed an existential threat to Israel. Washington acts as a guarantor of Israel’s security. Iran has retaliated by striking Israel and US military bases in the region and targeting major cities in Gulf countries.

Tehran has also effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterbody connecting the Gulf to the Arabian Sea, for most international commercial vessels, triggering a global energy crisis. About 20% of global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.

Israel has been claiming that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could alter the regional security balance. Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.