Dhaka, April 8 -- US President Donald Trump agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, less than two hours before his deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face devastating attacks on its civilian infrastructure.

The announcement late on Tuesday represented an abrupt turnaround from his extraordinary warning earlier in the day, when he said "a whole civilization will die tonight" if his demands were not met.

Pakistan's military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, and its prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, helped mediate the ceasefire.

Sharif said in a post on X he had invited Iranian and US delegations to meet in Islamabad on Friday.

The last-minute deal was subject to Iran's agreement to pause its blockade of oil and gas sup...