The entire market surges! The Iran-U.S. ceasefire agreement takes effect!

A ceasefire between the two sides takes effect.

On April 8, stocks in Japan and South Korea opened higher across the board. As of the time of this report, the Nikkei 225 index was up by more than 2,500 points, with a gain of nearly 5%; the South Korea KOSPI index was up by 6%.

U.S. and European stock index futures surged across the board. Dow Jones index futures rose by nearly 2%, S&P 500 index futures rose by more than 2%, Nasdaq 100 index futures rose by nearly 3%, German DAX index futures jumped by more than 4%, and UK FTSE 100 index futures rose by more than 2%.

The cryptocurrency market also surged across the board. As of the time of this report, Bitcoin was up by more than 4%, Ethereum was up by nearly 6%, SOL was up by more than 6%, Ripple (XRP) was up by more than 3%, and Dogecoin was up by nearly 4%.

According to an early-morning local-time report on the 8th from Iran, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has invited delegations from Iran and the United States to go to Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, to hold talks.

Shehbaz Sharif also said that the ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. would take effect at 3:30 a.m. Iran time on the 8th (8 a.m. Beijing time).

That day, Pakistan confirmed that Iran and the U.S. agreed to an immediate ceasefire and that negotiations would begin on the 10th.

On April 7, local time, a U.S. official said the U.S. military had paused strikes inside Iran.

Iran’s foreign minister, Aragchi, said in an early-morning local-time statement on the 8th that, in response to a request from Pakistan, he, on behalf of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, announced that if the U.S. and Israel stop attacking Iran, Iran’s armed forces would stop retaliating. With coordination with Iran’s armed forces, and on the condition that future technical limits allow, ships would be able to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz within the next two weeks.

On April 7, local time, U.S. President Trump posted on a social platform that after a phone call with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief of Staff Asim Munir, at Pakistan’s request, the U.S. decided to temporarily postpone the originally planned military strike operations against Iran.

Trump said the condition was that Iran agrees to fully, immediately, and safely open the Strait of Hormuz, and that the U.S. would pause its bombardment and attacks on Iran for two weeks, adding that this arrangement would constitute “a two-way ceasefire.” He said that the U.S. has already completed and exceeded its stated military objectives, and that it has made important progress in promoting a long-term peace agreement with Iran and peace in the Middle East.

According to a report from the U.S. on the 7th, a White House official said that Israel has also agreed to a temporary ceasefire.

Subsequently, in an early-morning local-time statement on the 8th, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council issued a statement saying that, based on the guidance of the Supreme Leader and with approval from the Supreme National Security Council, it accepted the ceasefire proposal put forward by Pakistan.

The statement said that Iran has achieved almost all of its targets in this war, that the enemy has “suffered a historic and comprehensive defeat,” that Iran will “continue the struggle until the great achievements are consolidated and a new security and political landscape is established in the region,” and that it has decided to hold talks in Islamabad to determine details—“consolidating the outcomes of victory through political negotiations within at most 15 days.”

The statement also said that Iran rejected all plans proposed by the enemy and developed a ten-point plan, which was submitted via Pakistan to the U.S. side. The plan emphasized the following key points:

Coordinate with Iran’s armed forces to control passage through the Strait of Hormuz;

End the war against all members of the “Axis of Resistance” and put an end to the aggression of the Israeli regime;

Withdraw U.S. combat forces from all bases and deployment points in the region;

Establish a secure transit protocol through the Strait of Hormuz to ensure Iran’s leading role;

Fully compensate Iran’s losses based on assessment results;

Lift all first-tier and second-tier sanctions as well as the UN Security Council-related resolutions;

Release all Iranian assets and properties frozen overseas;

Finally, all of these matters should be approved in binding UN Security Council resolutions.

The statement emphasized that all agreements reached through negotiations will become binding international law, and will bring an important diplomatic victory for the Iranian nation.

The statement said that negotiations will begin in Islamabad on April 10, and Iran will arrange two weeks for this; with mutual agreement, the negotiation period can be extended.

The statement called on the entire population to trust and support this process supervised by Iran’s highest leadership, and to strictly avoid divisive remarks.

The statement also said that if the negotiations fail, Iran is ready for battle.

Compiled from: CCTV News

Proofread by: Ran Yanqing