Trump Holds Back “Destructive Force” Of U.S. Military As Iran Agrees To Terms Of 2-Week Ceasefire
on Apr 08, 2026
The President Had Threatened Severe Consequences For Iran If A Deal Was Not Struck
On Tuesday, April 7, Iran narrowly avoided testing President Donald Trump‘s commitment to his threat that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if a deal wasn’t made.
About 90 minutes prior to the 8 p.m. deadline on April 7, Trump announced that the Iranian regime had largely agreed to the United States’ terms for a two-week ceasefire.
Trump ushered the start of this ceasefire in at 12:01 a.m. on April 8, writing on Truth Social, “A big day for World Peace! Iran wants it to happen, they’ve had enough!”
As part of this deal, the highly-contested Strait of Hormuz was reopened by Iran, with Trump adding that this meant he would “hold off” on authorizing “the destructive force” that had previously awaited Iran.
During his Address to the Nation on April 1, Trump stated, “If there is no deal, we are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating plants.”
Further, he noted, “We have not hit their oil … but we could hit it, and it would be gone, and there’s not a thing they could do about it.”
While Iran and the United States have reportedly not agreed to the same list of terms, with the United States having a 15-point list for a ceasefire and Iran having a 10-point list, Trump has indicated that there is enough crossover between the two nations’ lists to allow for continued negotiations.
The specifics of each list were not immediately disclosed to the public, but Iran shared its list on April 8, which can be seen below.
Saying that the ceasefire is moving the nations toward having this “longterm problem close to resolution,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on April 7, “We received a 10 point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate. Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated.”
See the full post, as shared by the White House, here:
Trump also shared a written statement from Iran as conflicting reports from CNN suggested that Iran was claiming that the United States had “suffered an undeniable, historic, and crushing defeat” as the ceasefire was secured.
The version of the Iranian government’s statement shared by Trump said, “If attacks against Iran are halted, our Powerful Armed Forces will cease their defensive operations.”
In the morning of Wednesday, April 8, Sec. of War Pete Hegseth stated during a news conference, “Iran begged for this ceasefire, and we all know it.”
That morning, Trump also gave some insight on the early trajectory of ongoing negotiations with Iran, writing on Truth Social that “there will be no enrichment of Uranium,” adding that efforts will be taken by the United States to “dig up and remove” residual nuclear “dust” remaining from strikes made on the nuclear enrichment sites, presumably the ones that the United States struck in June of 2025.
Additionally, Trump has said that talks with Iran over the coming weeks could lead to lessening of tariffs as well as the relieving of economic sanctions leveled against Iran.
See Trump’s April 8 post, here:
Iran’s 10-Point List Of Terms For Ceasefire Purportedly Published
While the 15-point list of terms the United States requires for peace with Iran has not yet been shared in full, Iran shared its 10-point list today, April 8.
Notably, the list includes several requests that are likely to be seen as non-starters for the United States.
See the full list here, as published by Iranian news agency IRNA and reported by The New York Times:
- An American guarantee of nonaggression with Iran;
- Iran maintains control of the Strait of Hormuz;
- Ending the regional war on all fronts, including against Iran’s ally, Hezbollah, in Lebanon;
- Withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from all bases and positions in the region;
- Reparations to Iran for war damages;
- Acceptance of Iran’s right to nuclear enrichment;
- Lifting all primary sanctions on Iran;
- Lifting all secondary sanctions on Iran;
- Termination of all resolutions against Iran by the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency; and
- Termination of all United Nations Security Council resolutions against Iran.
Responding to the publication of this list, Trump stated on Truth Social at 12:04 p.m., “Numerous Agreements, Lists, and Letters are being sent out by people that have absolutely nothing to do with the U.S.A. / Iran Negotiation, in many cases, they are total Fraudsters, Charlatans, and WORSE.”
He added, “They will be rapidly exposed after our Federal Investigation is completed.”
Continuing, Trump said:
“There is only one group of meaningful ‘POINTS’ that are acceptable to the United States, and we will be discussing them behind closed doors during these Negotiations. These are the POINTS that are the basis on which we agreed to a CEASEFIRE. It is something that is reasonable, and can easily be dispensed with. It’s very much like Fake News CNN last night, headlining a ‘source’ that had no power or authority to write a Letter claiming great authority.”
No New Wars?
The United States’ military assault on Iran, dubbed Operation Epic Fury, began on Feb. 28, and has seen the Islamic Republic of Iran go through a significant regime change as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the first day of the war.
It has also seen 13 American soldiers killed in combat.
Some have questioned how this military action in Iran has aligned with Trump’s 2024 campaign promise of “no new wars,” with the earlier military strike in Venezuela, on Jan. 3, adding to the critique.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY, is among those who are critical of the military involvement in Iran, writing on X, formerly Twitter, “For decades, we’ve been hearing the same scare tactics about Iran … Meanwhile, billions are wasted on endless wars. If liberty is to come to Iran, it will have to be won by Iranians themselves, not by American intervention.”
For decades, we’ve been hearing the same scare tactics about Iran, yet our intelligence agencies haven’t proved any imminent threat. Meanwhile, billions are wasted on endless wars. If liberty is to come to Iran, it will have to be won by Iranians themselves, not by American… pic.twitter.com/MU5jJxz6yM
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) March 10, 2026
However, in recent days, Sen. Paul has agreed with Trump on his willingness to have the United States exit NATO, which Trump has perceived as not lifting its weight during the conflict with Iran, particularly regarding the tension at the Strait of Hormuz.
“Congress must stop giving blank checks to our allies and start demanding accountability,” Sen. Paul said on X on April 2.
This is a developing story.
Watch the April 8 news conference with Sec. of War Pete Hegseth, here:
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