Yasin Güngör
08 April 2026•Update: 08 April 2026
A two-week ceasefire between the US, Israel and Iran was driven largely by Washington's initiative, with the Trump administration working behind the scenes for weeks to halt the war even as Donald Trump publicly threatened to destroy Iranian civilization, the Financial Times reported Wednesday.
Trump had been eager for a ceasefire since at least March 21, when he first threatened to "obliterate" Iranian power plants, driven by concern about surging oil prices and what the newspaper described as surprise at the resilience of the Iranian regime under sustained attacks, according to people familiar with the talks.
The White House turned to Pakistan as its preferred channel, calculating that a Muslim-majority neighbor with neutral standing was more likely to get Tehran to accept a ceasefire. The deal effectively asked Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for a halt to attacks.
Washington did not immediately respond to the report or the allegations.
The account stands in sharp contrast to the public posture adopted by Trump and senior US officials, who claimed Iran "begged" for the ceasefire and framed the outcome as an unconditional military victory.
The ceasefire was announced Tuesday, less than two hours before Trump's deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face what he called the destruction of "an entire civilization."
The US and Israel launched an offensive on Feb. 28, forcing Iran to retaliate with strikes across the region and restricting oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, rattling global markets.
