Dhaka, April 8 -- The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan, potentially suspending a six-week-old war that has killed thousands, spread across the Middle East and caused unprecedented disruption to the world's energy supplies.

Trump announced the agreement late on Tuesday, just two hours before a deadline he had set for Iran to open the blockaded Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of its "whole civilisation".

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he had invited Iranian and US delegations to meet in Islamabad on Friday. The deal is subject to Iran's agreement to pause its blockade of oil and gas passing through the strait, Trump said.

The waterway typically handles about one-fifth of gl...