In the final hours before a United States-Iran ceasefire was reached early on Wednesday in the Middle East, the war that had shaken the world for nearly six weeks had threatened to explode to even more prolonged and devastating levels.
US President Donald Trump issued increasingly apocalyptic warnings, including threats deemed genocidal, that he would obliterate Iran’s infrastructure and a “whole civilisation” would die if his deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8pm Washington, DC, time on Tuesday (midnight GMT) was not heeded by Tehran.
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A day earlier, Trump had also threatened to bomb Iran back to the “Stone Ages”.
World leaders expressed horror over his language, global markets tanked and some started pondering whether the Trump White House was perhaps even contemplating the use of nuclear weapons.
Eventually, over the course of a tense Tuesday, last‑minute diplomacy mediated by Pakistan culminated in a two‑week ceasefire less than 90 minutes before Trump’s self‑imposed deadline to carry out large-scale, devastating attacks on Iran. Israel also agreed to halt its attacks but said Lebanon was not included in the deal.
The truce was announced after both sides agreed to stop all attacks and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Talks in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Friday are slated to restart negotiations for a permanent settlement.
On Wednesday, Trump suggested in a Truth Social post that the ceasefire could usher in a “Golden Age for the Middle East”.
But through Tuesday as Trump’s self-imposed deadline approached, the region and the world were on edge as threats, counterthreats, escalatory attacks from both sides and diplomatic efforts intensified all at once, and it was unclear which would triumph – negotiations or further devastation.
Here are the key moments of the tense final hours leading up to this fragile ceasefire:
12:06 GMT, Tuesday – Trump’s threat to Iran’s civilisation
On Tuesday morning, Trump warned in a post on his social media platform Truth Social that Washington would unleash devastating strikes on Iranian bridges, power plants and other civilian infrastructure.
Trump even declared that “a whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back again” – a phrase that legal and human rights experts said was akin to a “genocidal” threat.
“We have a plan, because of the power of our military, where every bridge in Iran will be decimated … where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding, and never to be used again,” he said.
15:21 GMT, Tuesday – US strikes hit Kharg Island
Iran’s semiautonomous Mehr news agency confirmed reports that Kharg Island, where Iran’s main oil exporting facilities are based, had been hit but added that there had been no damage to infrastructure and the situation was under control.
15:40 GMT, Tuesday – China, Russia Security Council veto on Strait of Hormuz
During a vote in the United Nations Security Council, China and Russia vetoed a Bahraini resolution encouraging states to coordinate efforts to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Eleven countries on the 15-member council voted in favour of the resolution, two abstained and two voted against it – China and Russia, which, as permanent members, have veto power in the UN’s highest decision-making body.
Moscow and Beijing argued the draft was one‑sided and unfair to Tehran. China’s UN ambassador, Fu Cong, said moving ahead with the proposal while the US was issuing threats about the possible destruction of an entire civilisation would have conveyed the wrong signal.
16:54 GMT, Tuesday – Qatar and UAE send elevated alerts
Qatar’s Ministry of Defence said it “successfully intercepted a missile attack” targeting the country.
This followed an “elevated” threat alert that was sent out and subsequent sounds of missile interception over the capital, Doha.
Nearly half an hour earlier, the United Arab Emirates also reported a barrage of missile and drone attacks on its territory.
18:23 GMT, Tuesday – Iran’s envoy to Pakistan reports ‘step forward’ after ‘sensitive stage’
Reza Amiri Moghadam said in a post on X that “as of now”, there has been “a step forward from [a] critical, sensitive stage”.
“In the next stage, respect and comity should replace rhetoric and redundancy. Stay more tuned,” the Iranian ambassador to Pakistan added.
Moghadam earlier in the day had referred to Pakistan’s “positive and productive endeavours” towards peace and said talks had entered a “critical” stage – the first official confirmation from Iran that it was engaged in formal negotiations with the US.
19:17 GMT, Tuesday – Pakistan’s PM asks Trump to extend deadline
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appealed to Trump to push back his deadline for an Iran deal by two weeks and for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz during the same period, saying ongoing diplomatic efforts were promising and should be given a chance.
“Diplomatic efforts for [a] peaceful settlement of the ongoing war in the Middle East are progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully with the potential to lead to substantive results in [the] near future,” Sharif wrote in a post on X. “To allow diplomacy to run its course, I earnestly request President Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks.”
Sharif also called on Tehran to open the Strait of Hormuz for the same two weeks “as a goodwill gesture”.
20:25 GMT, Tuesday – Iran threatens to block regional oil and gas
A spokesperson for the Iranian military’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Ebrahim Zolfaghari, warned the country would target the energy infrastructure of the US and its Gulf allies in the region, Fars news agency reported.
The official said Iran would seek to deprive the region of oil and gas for years with the aim of forcing US forces and their partners to withdraw.
20:41 GMT, Tuesday – US and Israeli air strikes on energy plant in southwest Iran
The deputy security officer of Khuzestan province announced that the Amirkabir Petrochemical Plant in the port city of Mahshahr was struck in an air strike, Mehr reported, adding that local authorities were assessing the extent of the damage and potential casualties.
22:45 GMT, Tuesday – Trump announces temporary ceasefire
With less than an hour and a half to go to his deadline for the destruction of Iranian “civilisation”, Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran after talks with Sharif and Pakistan’s military chief, Asim Munir.
He said the ceasefire would be “double-sided” and Washington had received a “workable” 10-point proposal from Iran.
Twenty-five minutes later, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed Trump’s announcement and added that Tehran would abide by the temporary truce if attacks on its territory were halted.
In a post on X, Sharif invited Iranian and US delegations to Islamabad on Friday “to further negotiate for a conclusive agreement to settle all disputes”.
04:01 GMT, Wednesday – Trump says ceasefire could lead to ‘Golden Age’ for Middle East
A week earlier, Trump had threatened to bomb Iran back to the “Stone Ages”. Hours after he announced the two-week ceasefire with Iran, his tone had changed.
“A big day for World Peace! Iran wants it to happen, they’ve had enough! Likewise, so has everyone else!” he wrote on Truth Social. “Just like we are experiencing in the U.S., this could be the Golden Age of the Middle East!!!”