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TRANSCRIPT
The world had been holding its breath after a single social media post from US President Donald Trump.
Writing on Truth Social, Mr Trump said that unless Iran agreed to a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his deadline, a whole civilisation would die, never to be brought back again.
At the United Nations, Iran’s ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani said the threat crossed a legal and moral line, warning Iran would respond if those words were turned into action.
"This threat constitutes a flagrant and egregious violation of the IHL (international humanitarian law) and the most fundamental rules of governing armed conflict. The United States would bear full and undeniable responsibility for committing a manifest war crimes and a crime against humanity. Iran will not stand idle in the face of such egregious war crimes. It will exercise without hesitation its inherent right of self-defence and will take immediate and proportionate reciprocal measures."
With the prospect of civilian infrastructure attacks looming, Iran’s deputy sports minister, Alireza Rahimi, had called on young people, artists and athletes to form human chains around power plants.
"I invite all youth, cultural and artistic figures, athletes, and champions to the national campaign 'Iranian Youth's Human Chain for a Bright Tomorrow’. Tomorrow, Tuesday at 1400, beside power plants across the country, with every belief and taste, we will stand hand in hand to say: attacking public infrastructure is a war crime."
But now, the immediate crisis appears to be over.
Donald Trump has agreed to suspend the bombing of Iran for two weeks - an announcement coming less than two hours before his deadline was due to expire.
And Iran's Supreme National Security Council says it also accepts the two-week ceasefire and will negotiate with the United States.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has also stated passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be permitted for the next fortnight under the management of Iran's military.
Earlier, the Iranian government’s spokeswoman, Fatemeh Mohajerani, said Iran should hold on to what he sees as its most powerful bargaining chip.
"When you hold a winning card that you’ve used effectively and that has delivered positive outcomes, why would you easily hand it over to your opponent? When it has enabled us to manage the war, shape global dynamics, and influence the world’s energy flow, on what basis should we take such an unwise step? No, under no circumstances. We will preserve this Strait forever."
The agreement of a ceasefire has paused a situation that many countries had described as getting out of control.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari has said the cost of the ongoing war was too high.
"The escalation left unchecked will get us into a situation where it cannot be controlled. We are very close to that point. This is why we have been urging all parties to find a resolution out of this, to find a way of ending this war before it spirals out of control. There are no winners in the continuation of this war, there are only losers."
And in Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney saysall parties must respect international law and avoid targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure - though he wondered if public rhetoric fully reflected what is happening behind the scenes diplomatically.
"Canada expects all parties in this conflict, in any conflict, to respect international laws, the rules of engagement, and that means not targeting, certainly, civilians or civilian infrastructure. And we urge all parties in this war to follow those responsibilities. It's a point we've made publicly and privately."
Yet diplomacy had also experienced a setback.
Hours before the ceasefire, Russia and China vetoed a U-N Security Council resolution put forward by Bahrain to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and protect shipping.
Bahrain’s Foreign Minister, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, expressed his frustrations to members of the press immediately following the outcome of the vote.
"To be in United Nations when you are not united, it's a bit challenging. Today, the Council has fallen short of its responsibility to maintain international peace and security and to address Iran's illegal conduct with the clarity and firmness that the situation demands. This is not a matter that can be delayed or approached with hesitation."
The ceasefire is meant to take immediate effect.
But there are already signs the situation on the ground remains volatile, with reports Israeli strikes on Iran are continuing.
In neighbouring Lebanon, at least 22 people have been wounded in an attack on the southern coastal city of Sidon.
Mousa Awada, a resident of Beirut, says living through repeated strikes has become a grim reality for many.
"We have survived like thousands of times. Not once or twice, no, we survived many times. During the previous strike we lost our car. My car was parked here, and all of the rubble fell on it, and I was standing outside, and we survived. And this time we survived as well."
Even so, diplomatic efforts seem to be finally taking shape.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister has now invited representatives from across the region to talks on Friday, alongside the US and Iran, in the hope of securing a permanent ceasefire.
But key sticking points remain.
One of them is uranium enrichment which was included in Iran’s Farsi version of the ceasefire proposal, but absent from the English text.
And President Trump has made clear that dismantling Iran’s nuclear program remains central to Washington’s objectives.
"As I stated in my announcement of Operation Epic Fury, our objectives are very simple and clear. We are systematically dismantling the regime's ability to threaten America or project power outside of their borders. That means eliminating Iran's navy, which is now absolutely destroyed, hurting their air force and their missile program at levels never seen before; and annihilating their defence industrial base. We've done all of it. Taken together, these actions will cripple Iran's military, crush their ability to support terrorist proxies; and deny them the ability to build a nuclear bomb."
