US-Israel-Iran War News Live Updates: 'Israel backs US ceasefire with Iran but not Hezbollah in Lebanon', says Netanyahu on two-week truce

In a sudden pivot that pulled the world back from the precipice of an apocalyptic strike, the United States and Iran have entered a fragile two-week ceasefire after days of escalating strikes and threats, offering a narrow window for diplomacy to achieve Middle East peace amid residual mistrust and skepticism.

The truce, announced by US President Donald Trump just two hours before his 8:00 PM deadline to "erase Iranian civilization," marks a welcome -- if chaotic -- de-escalation in a month-long conflict that has seen global oil prices soar by 60% and the world economy getting increasingly edgy. Questions remain though about whether the ceasefire, stitched together through a mix of public signalling and backchannel contacts, is a genuine turning point or merely an interlude in a volatile confrontation.

Israel said Wednesday that a US-Iran ceasefire deal "does not include Lebanon", which was drawn into the war after Iran-backed group Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel.

"The two-weeks ceasefire does not include Lebanon," the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

The statement contradicted an earlier announcement by Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has acted as a mediator in the conflict, that said the ceasefire covers "everywhere including Lebanon".

US President Donald Trump told AFP on Tuesday he believed China had helped get Iran to the negotiating table to agree a two-week ceasefire deal.

"I hear yes," Trump said in a telephone call when asked if Beijing was involved in getting key ally Tehran to negotiate on a truce.

Trump is due to travel to Beijing in May to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.

US President Donald Trump told AFP on Tuesday that Iran's uranium would be "perfectly taken care of" under a two-week ceasefire deal with Tehran.

"That will be perfectly taken care of or I wouldn't have settled," Trump said in a telephone interview when asked about what would happen to Iran's enriched uranium.

President Donald Trump told AFP on Tuesday that the United States had won a "total and complete victory" after agreeing a two-week ceasefire deal with Iran.

"Total and complete victory. 100 percent. No question about it," Trump said in a brief telephone interview shortly after the announcement of the truce.

Israel has backed the United States’ decision for a temporary ceasefire with Iran, according to a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, even as it clarified that the arrangement does not extend to its ongoing conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Netanyahu said Israel supports Washington’s efforts to ensure that Iran “no longer poses” a nuclear threat, while maintaining that military operations against Hezbollah will continue separately.

US President Donald Trump told AFP on Tuesday that Iran's uranium would be "perfectly taken care of" under a two-week ceasefire deal with Tehran.

"That will be perfectly taken care of or I wouldn't have settled," Trump said in a telephone interview when asked about what would happen to Iran's enriched uranium.

“It is emphasized that this does not signify the termination of the war,” the statement said. “Our hands remain upon the trigger, and should the slightest error be committed by the enemy, it shall be met with full force.”

US President Donald Trump said he’s pulling back on his threats to widen attacks on Iran. The president said that includes an array of bridges, power plants and other civilian targets — subject to Iran being ready for a two-week ceasefire and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has described the ceasefire as a US victory, crediting Donald Trump and the American military for making it possible.

She said Trump had initially projected the war would last four to six weeks, and that within 38 days the US had achieved — and even surpassed — its core military objectives.

“The success of our military created maximum leverage, enabling President Trump and his team to pursue tough negotiations that have now opened the door to a diplomatic solution and long-term peace,” she wrote.

Leavitt also noted that Trump had ensured the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Her remarks came after Iran’s National Security Council said it agreed to the two-week ceasefire as “almost all the goals of the war have been achieved”, adding that talks in Islamabad would help consolidate its “battlefield victory” through political negotiations.

Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei has instructed all military units to cease fire, according to a statement broadcast on state-run IRIB and reported by CNN.

“This is not the end of the war, but all military branches must follow the Supreme Leader’s order and halt their fire,” the statement said.