An intense night of negotiations ends with a two-week truce. The Strait of Hormuz reopens (with reservations), the first talks between Iran and the United States will take place on Friday in Islamabad.
Endless hours of diplomacy, which began with the promise to completely destroy Iranian infrastructureinstead ended with one two-week truce between the United States, Israel and Iran, with the promise of a reopening of free transit in the Strait of Hormuz.
The most devastating Middle Eastern war of recent decades thus comes to a head temporary conclusion. However, many question marks remain.
The announcement of the truce
The main mediator of the truce was Pakistan, with the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif who announced during the night: “With the greatest humility, I am pleased to announce that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America, together with their allies, they agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewhereEFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.”
This was followed by Trump’s announcement, who announced via social media posts that he had held back “the destructive force that is about to be launched tonight against Iran and, provided that the Islamic Republic of Iran agrees to the FULL, IMMEDIATE and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of HormuzI agree to suspend bombings and attacks against Iran for a period of two weeks.”
Despite the Pakistani leader’s rather clear message that Lebanon was included in the negotiated truce, the Prime Minister’s office Benjamin Netanyahu instead made it known that this agreement “does not concern Lebanon”where Israeli war operations continue uninterrupted.
What can happen now
The ball would pass (the conditional is a must) to diplomacy. As announced by Sharif, The United States and Iran will sit at the negotiating table this Friday: “I invite their delegations to Islamabad on Friday, April 10, 2026, for further negotiations towards a final agreement to resolve all disputes.”
According to initial reports published by Iranian and American media, the US delegation should be led by the Vice President JD Vancewhile the Iranian one by the President of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibafvery close to the Pasdaran.
However, the two delegations arrive with antithetical positions and, at least apparently, irreconcilable. In his social message the American President announced that having received “a ten-point proposal from Iran and we believe it provides a valid basis on which to negotiate.”
These ten points were previously disclosed by Iranian media on Monday, April 6, and included: a guarantee of non-aggression by the United States and the maintenance of control over the Strait of Hormuz by Tehran.
The plan then requires recognition of the right to enrich uranium for civil and contextual purposes revocation of all sanctions primary and secondary. At the diplomatic level, Iran demanded the end of contrary resolutions both the UN Security Council and the IAEA.
The last points concern the direct consequences of the conflict, with the request of war reparations economic, the complete withdrawal of American troops from the region and the establishment of a definitive ceasefire on all Middle Eastern fronts.
It therefore seems clear that these points have been significantly modifiedas suggested by Trump himself in an interview given this morning to Sky News: “These are not the maximalist points that Iran is claiming (in public, ed.)”. If this were not the case, such requests would simply be inadmissible to Washingtonand the truce would be nothing more than a pause in hostilities.
The Hormuz Knot
The most important problem for the global economy is the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. In this regard, Trump promised the “complete, immediate and safe” reopening of the waterway. However, 9 hours after this message, traffic remains severely limited addressed only in the “Iranian corridor”passing between the islands of Qeshm and Larak.
The message released by the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in fact, it seems to allude to a partial and conditional reopening of the strait. In the message, the minister states that “for a period of two weeks it will be possible to safely transit through the Strait of Hormuz”, but only “thanks to coordination with the Iranian armed forces and taking due account of technical limitations”.
Words that seem to predict a maintenance of Iranian control over the Strait, while it is not yet clear whether Tehran will impose transit duties (absolutely illegal from the point of view of international law) on ships crossing the waterway in coordination with the Pasdaran.
The Lebanese knot
Everything still needs to be clarified regarding the Lebanese front. As mentioned, the Pakistani Prime Minister’s message specifically included Lebanon in the truce shortly after the announcement.
The Israeli army However, it conducted several raids in southern Lebanon, after having issued a renewed evacuation order for all citizens of the south of the countrywhile Hezbollah announced that it had suspended its war operations.
The Lebanese knot therefore remains to be resolved. On a diplomatic level, he is the French president Emmanuel Macron to be the spokesperson for the request that Lebanon be “fully” included in the truceunderlining how the situation in the country remains “critical”.
In short, the situation remains fragile and volatile. The first round of direct negotiations between Iran and the United States will be held on Fridayfrom positions that are difficult to reconcile. Trade through the Strait of Hormuz seems destined to remain under Iranian management, while the end of the war in Lebanon appears far from a foregone conclusion.
