Both sides are claiming victory in the dispute over key details.
President Trump announces two-week ceasefire with Iran
President Donald Trump announced that the United States had reached a two-week ceasefire with Iran, just hours before a deadline he imposed.
WASHINGTON – The Trump administration and Iranian leaders both claimed victory in the suspended US-Israel war against Iran, even as the details of a two-week cease-fire are being debated.
So who actually blinked first and who really came out on top?
There are no clear answers, and many of the details are hidden beneath layers of secret multiparty negotiations and shifting power relations. And key details remain contentious, including the future of Iran’s uranium enrichment program and whether the ceasefire applies to Israeli military operations in Lebanon., That threatens to disrupt the already fragile détente.
As of mid-afternoon on April 8, White House press secretary Caroline Levitt acknowledged that although the United States was seeing some movement, the strait, through which 20% of the world’s oil passes, was not yet fully operational.
“Today we observed an increase in traffic in the Strait, and I reiterate the President’s expectations and calls for the immediate, swift and safe reopening of the Strait of Hormuz,” Levitt said.
Later that day, Vice President J.D. Vance told reporters in Budapest, Hungary, on Wednesday: “Unless we do something like that, if the Iranians are not going to honor our terms, the president is not going to honor our terms.”
Here’s what we know about the original winners and losers of the ceasefire agreement. The ceasefire was announced hours before President Trump’s April 7 deadline of 8pm ET for Iran to open the strait or face annihilation.
What are both sides saying about the ceasefire?
President Trump postponed an attack on Iran that he claimed would wipe out “an entire civilization” after receiving a 10-point proposal from the Islamic Republic that provided a “workable basis” for negotiations.
The morning after the ceasefire was announced, Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth declared the military operation against Iran a “historic and overwhelming victory.”
Hegseth said the U.S. military had “achieved every military goal” it set at the start of the war, including destroying Iran’s navy, air force and weapons manufacturing infrastructure.
“President Trump created this moment,” he said. “Iran is begging for this ceasefire and we all know it.”
Iran’s Supreme Council for National Security also claimed victory following Tuesday night’s ceasefire agreement, saying the United States and Israel were forced to accept Tehran’s 10-point plan.
Mr. Levitt disputed public claims about the 10-point plan that have been circulated publicly, including by the Iranian government.
Leavitt told a White House press briefing that the real details are being discussed in back-channel negotiations between Washington and Tehran, which are being facilitated by the Pakistani government. A meeting is scheduled for this weekend in the capital, Islamabad, and Mr. Vance is expected to attend, the White House said.
What would Iran’s ceasefire proposal actually do?
Iran’s exact proposal has not been made public. However, many versions of it in public circulation call for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the Middle East in order for Iran to maintain control of the strategic straits and preserve its nuclear enrichment rights.
Iran’s Supreme Council for National Security said in an official statement that Iranian officials and Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei approved the plan.
The statement was long and rambling, full of religious references and attacks on Israel, Washington’s partner in the United States’ war against Iran, as a “global evil Zionism,” according to a translation by independent news and analysis site Middle East Eye.
However, the Iranian Council’s statement includes several specifics of Iranian proposals that the United States has said it will accept as a starting point, including a “controlled passage through the Strait of Hormuz in coordination with Iranian forces” and a halt to U.S. and Israeli military aggression against Iran and its Lebanese proxy fighting force, Hezbollah.
The statement also said it includes “the lifting of all primary and secondary sanctions” against Iran, including the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from all bases and deployment sites in the region, full payment of Iran’s damages from the war, and the release of all blockaded Iranian property and assets abroad.
“Now, the honorable Prime Minister of Pakistan has informed Iran that despite all external threats, the US side has accepted these principles as the basis of negotiations and surrendered to the will of the Iranian nation,” the statement said.
Once the details of Tehran’s 10-point plan are finalized, “Iran’s victory on the ground will be solidified in political negotiations,” he said.
What is the Trump administration saying?
In public remarks, Mr. Vance and Mr. Levitt said that some in the Iranian regime were “lying” about the nature of the ceasefire agreement. They also emphasized that the ceasefire agreement is fragile.
“The Iranians initially proposed a 10-point plan that was fundamentally unserious, unacceptable, and completely scrapped,” Levitt said at a White House briefing.
Levitt did not provide details of the “new revised plan,” but said Trump determined it provided a “workable basis for negotiation and alignment with our own 15-point proposal.”
“The red line that the president cannot cross remains the same: the end of the Iranian wealthy in Iran,” she said. “And the idea that President Trump would accept Iran’s wish list as a deal is completely ridiculous.”
Since the ceasefire was announced, conflicting accounts have emerged over, for example, whether Lebanon will be included in the deal. Pakistan and Iran, one of the countries brokering the deal, said the cessation of fighting would indeed extend to Lebanon. President Trump has said Israel’s war on Hezbollah is a “separate skirmish,” although Israel denies this.
What are President Trump’s critics saying?
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee and a vocal critic of President Trump, posted details of Iran’s 10-point plan on X, saying it came from an “account close to Iranian leadership.” The report states that during the ceasefire period, “only about 10 to 15 ships will be able to transit the Strait of Hormuz with Iran’s approval” after coordination with the Iranian navy, payment of tolls, and a promise by the United States to lift the freeze on Iranian assets.
The X post quoted by Murphy also said that Iran would “take control of the strait for the first time and impose tolls.” “They maintain their nuclear program, they maintain their missiles.”
“It’s now clear why Iran was so eager to agree to this ‘ceasefire’. What a disaster,” Murphy said.
TACO’s new move or “Trump always runs away”
Many observers say the ceasefire agreement with Iran is also an example of President Trump’s “TACO” (short for “Trump Always Chickens Out”), a term first popularized during the continuation of President Trump’s tariff policies.
“This was no ordinary Trump TACO, this was Trump accepting Iran’s victory terms as the basis for negotiations,” said Phillips O’Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and author of the 2025 book “War and Power: Who Wins Wars and Why.”
“Iran is likely to come out of this war stronger than before. A complete strategic failure on the part of the United States,” O’Brien said in an April 8 post on X.
“A strong first step toward holding Iran accountable.”
Some Trump allies in Congress hailed his acceptance of the short-term ceasefire as a smart tactical victory.
“This is great news,” Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said shortly after President Trump announced the ceasefire. “This is a strong first step in holding Iran accountable, and what happens when you have a leader who brings peace through strength rather than chaos and weak appeasement.”
“The president has been clear: Iran must never have nuclear weapons, the Strait of Hormuz must be fully open, and our nation and our great ally Israel must never again be threatened by Iran or its proxies,” Scott said.
