A Sudden Emergency Brake at the Cliff—90 Minutes Before the “Deadline,” the U.S., Iran, and Italy Unexpectedly Cease Fire

Less than an hour and a half remains until the so-called “final deadline” that Trump talked about—20:00 Eastern Time on April 7. The whole world holds its breath, waiting to see whether Iran’s power plants and bridges will really “go up in flames and blow up,” as Trump warned. However, at the moment when the countdown clock was about to point to the critical threshold, a diplomatic move—an emergency intervention mediated by Pakistan—dramatically pulled the U.S. and Iran back from the brink of war.

1. The “Broken Promise” History of the Final Deadline: A Countdown That Keeps Getting Postponed

Trump’s “final deadline,” from the start, has been full of flexibility and uncertainty.

On March 21, Trump for the first time issued a so-called 48-hour “ultimatum” to Iran, demanding it open the Strait of Hormuz or else he would destroy its power facilities. But this deadline was not carried out—on March 23, the very day the “ultimatum” expired, Trump suddenly changed his tune, saying U.S.-Iran talks were “productive,” and announced that airstrikes would be delayed by 5 days. On March 26, he postponed the deadline again, announcing that the destruction operation would be extended to 20:00 on April 6. On April 4, he warned that “there’s not much time left”; if the U.S. demands could not be met, “further action” might be taken “within 48 hours.” On April 5, Trump changed his stance once more, claiming that “April 7 will be Iran’s power plant day and bridge day,” implying that Iran’s power plants and bridges would be bombed heavily. On April 6, he reiterated the “ultimatum,” saying that if Iran failed to reach an agreement before 20:00 on the 7th, he would launch a four-hour airstrike.

Facing the hard-nosed pressure from the U.S., Iran never backed down. Iran stated that it would not retreat, would “repay in kind,” while ruling out a temporary ceasefire possibility, emphasizing that the war must be “permanently ended” on the premise of considering Iran’s interests. Abdulrahim Khattam? Anbyah? Central Headquarters commander? more direct?—Commander Abdullahi? The commander at the Central Headquarters of Iran’s armed forces, Hatem? Anbiyah? Ambyah?—Commander Abdullahi? said even more bluntly that after Trump had suffered consecutive failures, he was carrying out “helpless, panicked, unbalanced, and foolish” actions.

2. Pakistan’s “Intercept”: Shahbaz’s Last-Second Mediation

Just as the final deadline entered the final stretch of the countdown, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif spoke out via social media, issuing an extremely critical emergency appeal: he urged Trump to postpone the “final deadline” by two weeks, while also asking the “brothers of Iran” to open the Strait of Hormuz for two weeks as a show of good will. Shahbaz also called on all parties to the conflict to fully cease fire for two weeks, to create space for diplomatic efforts.

This mediation move was quickly met with responses from multiple sides. According to sources, Pakistan had already drawn up a framework proposal to end the conflict in advance, with a plan to first achieve an immediate ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and then reach a final agreement within 15 to 20 days.

3. A 90-Minute Countdown to “Civilization’s Extinction”: Trump’s Sudden Turnaround

Around 18:30 Eastern Time on April 7—90 minutes before the 20:00 deadline—Trump posted on social media and made a dramatic announcement: he agreed to pause the bombing and attacks against Iran for two weeks, on the condition that Iran agrees to “fully, immediately, and safely” open the Strait of Hormuz. Trump emphasized that “this will be a two-way ceasefire.” He also said the U.S. received Iran’s ten-point proposal and believes it is a viable basis for negotiations, and that the U.S. and Iran have almost reached consensus on nearly all the key points they have argued over in the past.

After that, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council issued a statement in the early hours of April 8 local time, confirming the two-week ceasefire agreement reached through Pakistan’s mediation. Iran’s Foreign Minister Aragchi, speaking on behalf of the Supreme National Security Council, announced that if attacks against Iran stop, over the next two weeks, in coordination with Iran’s armed forces, ships will be able to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz on the premise that the restrictions allow it from a technical standpoint.

4. The U.S. “Wants Both”: Airstrikes Still Continue on the Day of the Ceasefire

However, it is worth noting that on the very day just before the deadline—hours before Trump announced the ceasefire—the United States was still launching a new round of military strikes against Iran. The U.S. military carried out airstrikes on Iran’s key energy and military hub, Khark Island, focusing on military targets such as radar sites and ammunition depots, while deliberately avoiding oil export facilities, showing a “controlled escalation” strategy. U.S. Vice President Vance and the Pentagon emphasized that these strikes do not represent a change in strategy, but rather are part of sustained pressure to force negotiations.

Meanwhile, once news of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement broke, global markets reacted quickly. U.S. crude futures, WTI on the New York Mercantile Exchange, widened its decline to 15%, trading at $93.79 per barrel; spot gold in London quickly broke through the $4,800 round-number level, up 2.3% for the day.

Summary: From March 21 to April 7, Trump’s “final deadline” experienced at least four delays, and ultimately, with only 90 minutes left before the deadline, the “two-week ceasefire” under Pakistan’s mediation was dramatically put on hold. However, the final round of airstrikes before the ceasefire statement was released—along with the U.S.’s “more than achieving military objectives” and Iran’s “almost all targets in the war have been achieved” dual “victory declarations”—and the additional condition in Trump’s statement that the ceasefire depends on Iran opening the Strait of Hormuz—all these details are reminding the world: this is more like a recalibration of the war’s tempo than a genuine peace. After two weeks, the suspense will surface again.
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