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De-escalation Mar 24 – Apr 8, 2026 Key moment

Pakistan Brokers a Fragile Two-Week Ceasefire — Then the Lebanon Dispute Shatters It

United States US State Department Iranian Foreign Ministry Pakistani Government Israeli Government

On 24 March the US delivered a sweeping 15-point framework to Iran via Pakistan, demanding full nuclear dismantlement, an end to enrichment, surrender of enriched uranium, missile limits, and an end to proxy activity. Iran rejected it outright. Six weeks of back-channel talks followed. On 7 April, President Trump announced a two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, based on Iran's own 10-point counter-proposal and conditional on Iran immediately reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The ceasefire lasted hours before fracturing: Iran and Pakistan both stated it covered Lebanon, but the US and Israel explicitly rejected that reading — and Israel launched its heaviest strikes on Lebanon since the war began. The episode exposed how incompatible the two sides' definitions of "ceasefire" were, and how Israel's separate military campaign could unravel any US-Iran deal at any moment.

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