UNITED STATES President Donald Trump has declared a “total and complete victory” after Washington agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, despite lingering uncertainty over the terms of the agreement and competing claims from Tehran.
Speaking in a telephone interview, AFP cited that Trump was unequivocal in his assessment of the outcome.
“Total and complete victory. 100 percent. No question about it,” he said, shortly after the truce was finalised less than an hour before a deadline he had set for a major escalation of military action.
The agreement, brokered with mediation from Pakistan, temporarily halts hostilities following more than a month of conflict involving the United States and Israel.
It includes provisions for Iran to ensure safe maritime passage through the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz while negotiations continue.
Trump indicated that a broader framework was already in place, suggesting momentum towards a longer-term settlement.
“We have a 15-point transaction, of which most of those things have been agreed on. We'll see what happens. We'll see if it gets there,” he said, while noting that an earlier ten-point proposal from Iran had provided “a workable basis” for talks.
The fate of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile remains a central issue in the negotiations.
Trump insisted that the matter would be resolved in the framework of any eventual agreement.
“That will be perfectly taken care of, or I wouldn't have settled,” he said, without elaborating on the details.
He also suggested that China may have played a role in encouraging Tehran to come to the negotiating table.
“I hear yes,” he said when asked about Beijing’s involvement.
Trump is expected to travel to Beijing in mid-May for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, in what is likely to be a pivotal meeting between the two powers.
Despite the ceasefire, tensions remain high across the region. Israel has backed Trump’s decision to pause military operations but stressed that the agreement does not extend to Lebanon.
Meanwhile, in a statement, the office of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel supports the suspension of strikes “on condition that Iran immediately opens the strait and halts all attacks against the US, Israel and countries in the region.”
It added that Israel continues to support efforts to ensure Iran no longer poses a nuclear, missile or security threat.
However, the exclusion of Lebanon from the ceasefire appears to contradict earlier remarks by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who had indicated that the truce would apply “in all areas including Lebanon.”
Lebanon has been drawn into the conflict following rocket attacks by the Iran-backed group Hezbollah against Israel, triggering retaliatory air strikes and a broader military escalation that has reportedly claimed more than 1,500 lives.
Negotiations between Washington and Tehran are scheduled to begin in Islamabad on Friday, with the two-week pause seen as a narrow window to avert further escalation and potentially lay the groundwork for a more durable settlement. - April 8, 2026
