NATO Chief Warns Of Deepening Russia–Iran Cooperation

Bahrain has reported an Iranian strike just hours after Tehran and Washington agreed to a temporary halt in hostilities, which included Iran refraining from attacking countries in the region.

The Interior Ministry of Bahrain issued a warning earlier to citizens ahead of an incoming attack, urging them to "remain calm and head to the nearest safe place." Soon after, it reported on X that the country's "Civil Defense extinguished a fire in the facility as a result of the Iranian aggression."

As a result of the strike, "two citizens sustained minor injuries and a number of houses were damaged in the Sitra area as a result of shrapnel falling from the interception of an Iranian drone," the ministry reported.

Smoke had been seen rising from an area on Sitra Island, which is close to Manama and hosts the country's principal energy facilities.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha has welcomed the US-Iran agreement to "unblock" the Strait of Hormuz and achieve a two-week cease-fire, calling it a sign that "American decisiveness works."

Sybiha added that similar decisiveness is now needed "to force Moscow to cease fire and end its war against Ukraine."

Israel said that it supports Trump's decision to stop attacking Iran for two weeks subject to the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the cessation of attacks against the United States, Israel, and other countries in the region.

But the statement, released by the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said the cease-fire did not include Lebanon, which contradicted an earlier statement from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan.

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US Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, says she welcomes a temporary cease-fire to stop the fighting with Iran, though concerns remain over what the war has achieved, citing a sharp increase in gas prices, the "enormous disruption" to the global economy, and the deaths of 13 US service members.

“Diplomacy is the only way forward. There must now be an intensive diplomatic effort, alongside our allies, to conclude this conflict and ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon,” the senator from New Hampshire said in a statement late on April 7 after the cease-fire deal was announced.

Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator for South Carolina and a vocal supporter of military action against Iran during the presidency of Donald Trump, says he expects to review in Congress Iran's proposed 10-point plan to end the war with the United States.

"As to an Iranian ten point proposal to end the war, I look forward to reviewing it at the appropriate time and its submission to Congress for a vote, like we did with the Obama JCPOA," Graham wrote in a social media post on X.

Graham said it is imperative that "every ounce of the approximately 900 lbs. of highly enriched uranium" Iran possesses must be controlled by the United States and removed from Iran "to prevent them in the future from having a dirty bomb or returning to the enrichment business - the Libyan model, for lack of a better phrase."

The JCPOA, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was a deal signed in 2015 between Iran and the P5+1 (US, UK, France, China, Russia, plus Germany) designed to limit Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for relief from international sanctions.

Trump pulled the United States out of the deal in 2018 after calling it a "disaster."

WASHINGTON -- As news of the agreement between Iran and the United States for a two-week cease-fire eased fears of a major escalation in the conflict, Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, characterized the move as "a tactical pause -- a delay" and suggested that the threat of force has not been removed, merely shelved.

"I think President [Donald] Trump retains the option of escalating. The attack plans have been prepared. That credible military threat remains," he told RFE/RL, adding that both nations remain in a position to strike.

"The Iranians have the ability to threaten the Strait of Hormuz. So both can revert to previous postures if this deal fails to hold."

Brodsky also noted Tehran made a significant pivot from its previous rhetoric to make the deal, as it had previously insisted on a permanent end to hostilities rather than a temporary fix.

"If this is fully implemented, Iran's regime backed down amid President Trump's threats," Brodsky observed, noting that Iranian officials like Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, had previously rejected temporary truces.

"After coercive diplomacy, Tehran climbed down from that demand and agreed to a temporary ceasefire."

However, he added that the underlying ideology of the Iranian leadership might make a long-term resolution to the war difficult.

"In the end, as long as the Islamic Republic is the Islamic republic, there are likely no happy endings here. It requires enmity with the US to survive as a system.”

US President Donald Trump and Iran have agreed to a two-week Pakistani-brokered cease-fire, pulling back from the brink to allow the two sides time to negotiate a peace deal.

Trump, who earlier on April 7 wrote that "a whole civilization will die tonight" if Iran fails to reach a deal, said in a social media post that he had received a 10 point proposal from Tehran and he believes "it is a workable basis on which to negotiate."

The Tasnim news agency, which is close to the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), confirmed a cease-fire has been "established" between the two sides "with specific conditions."

Trump also gave no details of the Iranian proposal, but added that the agreement hinges on Tehran allowing for the free passage of ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil and gas shipping lane.

"...wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks," Trump wrote.

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Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has asked US President Donald Trump to extend by two weeks the deadline he has given Iran to reach an agreement with Washington and open the Strait of Hormuz.

Sharif, whose country is leading efforts to mediate between the United States and Iran, also called on all sides in the war to cease fire and for Tehran to open the strait to shipping for the same two-week period.

"Diplomatic efforts for peaceful settlement of the ongoing war in the Middle East are progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully with the potential to lead to substantive results in near future," Sharif said in a post on X less than five hours before the deadline set by Trump was due to expire.

“To allow diplomacy to run its course, I earnestly request President Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks. Pakistan, in all sincerity, requests the Iranian brothers to open Strait of Hormuz for a corresponding period of two weeks as a goodwill gesture. We also urge all warring parties to observe a ceasefire everywhere for two weeks to allow diplomacy to achieve conclusive termination of war," he wrote.

Reuters cited a senior Iranian official it did not name as saying Tehran was positively reviewing the request for a two-week cease-fire.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had been made aware of Pakistan's proposal and that a response would come.

With reporting by Reuters

Pope Leo XIV suggested that US President Donald Trump's threat to destroy "a whole civilization" was "unacceptable," while other international figures and Western officials warned all sides in the Iran war against attacks on civilian infrastructure.

"Today...there was this threat against all the people of Iran, and this is truly unacceptable," Leo told journalists on April 7, adding: "There are certainly questions of international law, but much more than that, it is a moral question."

An American who has been critical of the Iran war, Leo urged people in the United States and elsewhere to contact their political leaders or representatives to urge them to work for peace. He did not mention Trump, the United States, or any other country by name.

His remarks came after Trump, reiterating his threat of major US attacks on Iranian power plants and bridges if Tehran doesn't agree to a deal by 8 p.m. EST on April 7, posted on social media: "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will."

The UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Turk, said he deplored "the tirade of incendiary rhetoric being used in the Middle East war" by all parties. Also without mentioning Trump by name, he described threats "to annihilate a whole civilization and to target civilian infrastructure" as "sickening."

"Under international law, deliberately attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure is a war crime," said Turk, who called for urgent steps to deescalate and protect civilians.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was "deeply troubled" by Trump's statement, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said. "There is no military objective that justifies the wholesale destruction of a society's infrastructure or the deliberate infliction of suffering on civilian populations," Dujarric told a regular briefing.

Canadian ‌Prime Minister Mark Carney also called on the parties in the war to respect international law and warned them against targeting civilians and ‌civilian infrastructure.

"One does not erase a civilization,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said. He said he hopes Trump "does not go ahead with his threats that would push the region but also the world in a new escalation that would be particularly dangerous."

Several US lawmakers have also criticized Trump's post and warned against targeting civilian infrastructure.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and dpa

China and Russia vetoed a resolution on April 7 proposed by Bahrain to the United Nations Security Council that would have encouraged countries to coordinate on protecting commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Eleven members of the Security Council voted in favor of the resolution, while veto-wielding permanent members China and Russia voted against it and two countries abstained.

Bahrain, with the support of the United States and other Gulf countries, had spent weeks negotiating a draft resolution that initially would have authorized countries to use "all necessary means" -- a standard UN phrase that can include military force -- to protect shipping in the strait.

However, after opposition from China, Russia, and France, the language was revised. The final version instead called on countries to coordinate defensive efforts and ensure safe passage through the waterway.

The Strait of Hormuz remains a critical global shipping route, and its disruption has raised major economic concerns worldwide.

Earlier, Bahrain’s UN ambassador Jamal Al-Ruwaii warned of the broader impact, saying, "We cannot accept the economic terrorism" and "the entire world is affected by these developments."