US and Iran reached a ceasefire before Trump's civilization collapse threat, Axios says
US President Donald Trump (photo: Getty Images)
The US and Iran, through intermediaries, made diplomatic progress as early as Tuesday afternoon, before US President Donald Trump threatened Tehran with the collapse of a whole civilization, Axios reports.
According to the publication's sources, Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, for the first time since the beginning of the war, instructed his negotiators to move toward reaching an agreement with the US.
On Monday morning, during Easter celebrations at the White House, US President Donald Trump was interacting with the crowd, while US special envoy Steve Witkoff, according to sources, was "very angry" and actively speaking on the phone.
At that time, Witkoff told intermediaries that the 10-point counterproposal that the US had just received from Iran was "a disaster, a catastrophe."
This marked the beginning of a "chaotic" day of revisions, when Pakistani intermediaries coordinated new drafts between Witkoff and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
At the same time, the foreign ministers of Egypt and Türkiye were trying to overcome the differences between the parties.
By Monday evening, intermediaries received US approval for an updated proposal for a two-week ceasefire.
After that, the decision had to be made by Khamenei, whose participation in the negotiations was secret and labor-intensive. Facing a threat of assassination by Israel, Khamenei communicated mostly through couriers who delivered notes.
In the end, Iran's Supreme Leader also agreed to the updated ceasefire proposal. Two sources called his approval for the negotiators a "breakthrough."
According to interlocutors, Araghchi also played a central role in conducting the negotiations and pushing commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps toward reaching an agreement. China also advised Iran to seek a compromise.
"Without his green light, there wouldn't have been a deal," a source from the region said.
By Tuesday morning, it became clear that progress had been achieved. However, this did not prevent Trump from making his most alarming threat: "A whole civilization will die tonight."
Trump's latest threat to Iran
On April 7, US President Donald Trump once again threatened Iran with harsh consequences if Tehran does not unblock the Strait of Hormuz.
On his social media platform Truth Social, he wrote: "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will."
Ceasefire between the US and Iran
Tonight, a few hours before the expiration of the US ultimatum, Trump said he had agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran in exchange for opening the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran confirmed the ceasefire and announced the opening of the Strait of Hormuz for this period, but put forward its own condition.
Earlier, Axios reported that Trump could delay strikes on Iran at the last moment.
