Iran accepts two-week ceasefire, Strait of Hormuz to reopen
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council says it has accepted a two-week ceasefire in the war between the US-Israel and Iran, and will reopen the Strait of Hormuz for the duration of the pause.
The statement comes after US President Donald Trump said he would suspend his plans to bomb Iran for another two weeks, sharing a post on Truth Social that he had received a 10-point proposal from Iran and was willing to negotiate.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has released a statement on X, saying Iran has agreed to the US’s terms and stating: “If attacks against Iran are halted, our Powerful Armed Forces will cease their defensive operations.”
The statement also said Iran would allow safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz in co-ordination with Iranian Armed Forces “for a period of two weeks”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later said the ceasefire would not affect Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah and Lebanon.
With AP
Labor minster calls for further end to hostilities in the Middle East
US President Donald Trump’s threat that a “whole civilisation will die” were inappropriate, said Labor Minister Murray Watt.
Trump made the remarks on his Truth Social platform hours before his deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and a two-week ceasefire was brokered.
“I think those kinds of remarks form a world leader are totally inappropriate,” Watt said on the ABC.
“We have always said through this crisis, international humanitarian law needs to be respected, and what that means is civilians and civilian infrastructure needs to be protected.”
Israel strikes Lebanon, displaced people warned not to head south
Israeli strikes on parts of southern Lebanon have targeted areas near the coastal city of Tyre, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.
A residential building was struck at dawn, killing four people in Tyre, while a drone strike targeted a car in the city, although it was unclear who the intended target was in the vehicle.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier said the Israeli army’s attacks on Hezbollah and invasion of Lebanon was not considered part of the ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Crisis Management Unit has urged displaced people not to travel south following the US-Iran ceasefire agreement.
The unit’s statement came as many displaced people packed their belongings and started moving south, thinking the agreement also included Lebanon, where Israel and the Hezbollah militant group are at war.
AP
Australians heading to Gaza prepared for drone attacks, detention
Australians setting sail for Gaza admit they fear abuse in Israeli prison cells, as they attempt to deliver aid to the shattered territory.
A fleet of 100 boats including 16 Australian sailors will leave an Italian port later this month, carrying about 500 tonnes of humanitarian aid, trying to penetrate a naval blockade Israel has enforced since 2007.
The previous Global Sumud Flotilla bound for the strip in September 2025 weathered drone attacks. Israeli forces intercepted all 42 vessels and detained more than 450 activists, including seven Australians.
After returning home, those Australians alleged a string of human rights violations while in Israeli prison cells including being sexually assaulted, tortured, kicked, punched and spat on while also being denied clean drinking water, medication and access to a lawyer.
Opinion: Trump may have permanently inverted oil markets
Something interesting happened in oil markets in response to Donald Trump’s eleventh-hour announcement of a ceasefire in the hostilities in Iran. Oil prices immediately plunged, but the US price traded above that of global oil. In fact, since late last week, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price has traded at a premium to the price of Brent crude, the global benchmark.
That’s an inversion of the historical relationship, or at least the one that has held for more than a decade, in which Brent oil has usually traded at a $US3 ($4.25) to $US6-a-barrel premium over its WTI counterpart. The last time an inversion occurred was in May 2022, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Brent has generally been priced higher than US oil because it is the reference point for globally traded oil flowing from the North Sea, the Middle East and West Africa. It can be shipped and delivered anywhere, and therefore the pricing reflects its global reach, liquidity and seamless logistics.
US onshore oil is landlocked. It is piped to a hub at Cushing, Oklahoma, and, where Brent reflects global supply and demand balances and geopolitics, WTI prices are also driven by US domestic influences – production, demand and refining capacity.
So, why has the WTI price traded at a premium to Brent over the past week, a premium that was more than $US3 a barrel ahead of the announcement of the ceasefire?
Read the full analysis here.
Indonesia, South Korea welcome ceasefire
Indonesia and South Korea are the latest Asian governments to welcome news of the two-week ceasefire, following similar statements from nations such as Malaysia and Pakistan.
A spokesperson for Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs said: “The Indonesian government will always support any constructive diplomatic efforts, including those that have the potential to lead to a more permanent resolution, with the protection of civilians as our primary focus.”
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry praised mediation efforts by countries including Pakistan and called for a swift restoration of peace and stability in the Middle East. It said it expected the “prompt and safe” resumption of free passage through the Strait of Hormuz for all vessels, including South Korean ships.
AP
The latest death toll in the war
Further deaths may be prevented after the US and Iran struck a two-week peace deal. However, Israel has said it will continue its attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon, and there have been reports of missile strikes in the hours since the ceasefire.
Here are the latest death tolls:
In Lebanon, where Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, more than 1500 people have been killed and 1 million people displaced. Eleven Israeli soldiers have died.
More than 1900 people have been killed in Iran during the war. However, the government has not updated the toll for days.
In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 23 have been reported dead in Israel. Thirteen US service members have been killed.
With AP
Analysis: Have Trump’s threats proved successful?
For those who believe that “Trump always chickens out”, this is the US president’s biggest TACO moment to date – extra meat, extra cheese, extra guacamole.
His rhetorical threats against Iran reached outlandish levels, even for him – pledges to bomb the country back to the Stone Age if it didn’t “open the f—in’ strait”, then his ghoulish warning that “a whole civilisation will die tonight” unless there was a deal.
It was so over the top that it defied belief, and it began to seem much more likely Trump was indulging the madman theory: appear as erratic and dangerous as possible to extract as many concessions as possible.
So, did it work? Well, in one sense, yes.
More broadly, though, this purported ceasefire is highly tenuous – and not only because air raid sirens were ringing in Israel, Kuwait and Bahrain in the hours following the announcement, and parts of the agreement were immediately contested by Israel.
Read the full analysis here.
Sirens sound in Bahrain hours after ceasefire
Bahrain sounded its missile alert sirens on Wednesday morning, hours after the US and Iran said they had reached a two-week ceasefire deal in the war. Bahrain’s Interior Ministry announced the warning.
It wasn’t immediately clear from the ceasefire statement when it would begin.
Iran has fired missiles on the Gulf Arab states and Israel since the announcement.
AP
Trump claims ‘total and complete victory’
US President Donald Trump has claimed the US war on Iran as a “total and complete victory” after facilitating a two-week ceasefire deal.
“Total and complete victory. 100 per cent. No question about it,” he told news agency AFP.
When asked if he would follow through on threats to destroy Iran’s infrastructure if the Islamic Republic broke the terms of the deal, Trump said: “You’re going to have to see.”
In a Truth Social post, Trump said today was a “big day for World Peace”.
“Iran wants it to happen, they’ve had enough! Likewise, so has everyone else! The United States of America will be helping with the traffic buildup in the Strait of Hormuz.
“There will be lots of positive action! Big money will be made.”
Malaysia welcomes ceasefire
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has welcomed the two-week US-Iran ceasefire as a proposal that “augurs well for the restoration of peace and stability” around the world.
“It is earnestly hoped that the negotiation process will be conducted in good faith, with a firm resolve to seeking lasting resolution to the issues currently facing the region,” Ibrahim said in a statement.
“Peace talks cannot succeed if the proceedings are cloaked in deception and double-dealing.”
The prime minister added that Iran’s 10-point plan for peace should also end suffering in Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen, and “ensure the end of the genocide and dispossession of the people of Palestine, not least in Gaza”.
“Let this be a turning point towards lasting peace,” he said. “The world cannot afford for it to be anything less.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
