U.S. and Iran agree to 2-week ceasefire

Special Series Middle East conflict Conflict in the Middle East has been escalating. These stories provide context for current developments and the history that led up to them. "Good news to the dear nation of Iran! Nearly all the objectives of the war have been achieved," the Supreme National Security Council said in a statement. Iran officials warned that any deviation from the agreement could lead to future violence. "Our hands are on the trigger, and the moment the enemy makes the slightest mistake, it will be met with full force," the Supreme National Security Council said. Iran's foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, thanked Pakistan Prime Minister Sharif for his role in the negotiations. He added: "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." Just hours after the pause in violence was announced there appeared to be disagreement over who would be granted a reprieve from the strikes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement Wednesday morning that it supports Trump's decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks, but that the ceasefire doesn't include Lebanon, despite Pakistan's prime minister saying otherwise. But it said "if the Israeli enemy does not adhere" to it, then "no party will commit to it, and there will be a response from the region, including Iran." As of Wednesday morning, it appears Hezbollah is holding fire. But there have been several Israeli attacks on Lebanon, and fresh evacuation orders by the Israeli military for parts of Beirut and the country's south. Many of the more than a million people displaced by Israel's invasion for more than 6 weeks readied to go back home, after the ceasefire announcement, but were told by Lebanese authorities to stay put as it was still unsafe, following Netanyahu's statement. Lebanese state media said there have also been airstrikes in Tyre and on Hezbollah-affiliated paramedics, and Israeli artillery attacks on several villages across the south. Israel has also issued fresh evacuation orders for Beirut's southern suburbs. A man flashes the V-sign while driving a vehicle loaded with belongings through the al-Qassimyah area en route to southern Lebanon early on April 8, 2026, after the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire. Israel renewed its strikes on southern Lebanon on April 8, state media reported, as the Israeli prime minister insisted the Iran war truce does not include Lebanon. Kawnat Haju/AFP via Getty Images hide caption Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid blasted the ceasefire on social media, saying, "there has never been such a political disaster in our entire history." He criticized Netanyahu for not being a party to the ceasefire agreement, adding that Netanyahu "failed to meet a single one of the goals he set for himself." Netanyahu and Trump spoke on the phone before Trump announced the ceasefire with Iran, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. A projectile is seen moments before hitting a building during an Israeli airstrike in the area of Abbasiyeh, on the outskirts of the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, on April 8, 2026. Kawnat Haju/AFP via Getty Images hide caption It's still unclear where negotiations stand regarding Iran's assertion that it can continue its enrichment of uranium. In his statement, Netanyahu said Israel "supports U.S. efforts to ensure Iran no longer poses a nuclear or missile threat." A senior Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told reporters in a statement that the U.S. has assured Israel that it will insist on the removal of enriched uranium from Iran, an end to further enrichment, and "the elimination of the ballistic missile threat" during future negotiations. Freelance journalist Shelly Kittleson has been released a week after she was kidnapped by Kataib Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Iraqi militant group. "We are relieved that this American is now free and are working to support her safe departure from Iraq," Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote in a statement on X on Tuesday evening. Kittleson, 49, has spent over a decade covering the Middle East, according to Columbia Journalism Review. She was captured by the militia group on March 31, in broad daylight on a Baghdad street corner. Her release was a multi-agency effort, according to Rubio. U.S. journalist Shelly Kittleson poses for a cellphone photo in a cafe in Baghdad, Iraq, March 30. AP hide caption "The U.S. Department of State extends its appreciation to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of War, U.S. personnel across multiple agencies, and the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council and our Iraqi partners, for their assistance in securing her release," Rubio said. He added: "Under President Trump, the wrongful detention or kidnapping of U.S. nationals will not be tolerated. We will continue to use every tool to bring Americans home and to hold accountable those responsible." Kataib Hezbollah, one of Iraq's most powerful Shia paramilitaries, announced earlier on Tuesday that it was releasing Kittleson in appreciation of "the patriotic positions" of Iraq's prime minister, who helped negotiate her release. It said she had to leave the country immediately. The group in Iraq is not related to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. It's part of a coalition of Iran-backed militias that have been attacking U.S. military and government targets in Iraq. The U.S. and Israel have launched airstrikes in response. When Kittleson was kidnapped last week, the U.S. State Department said it had warned her of threats against her beforehand, and that it was working with the FBI to secure her release. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has said all American citizens should leave Iraq because of attacks. Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor