WASHINGTON – The Trump administration and Iranian leaders both have claimed victory in thetemporarily paused U.S.-Israel war on Iraneven as details of thetwo-week ceasefireare being disputed.
So who actually blinked first and who really came out on top?
There’s no clear answer, with much of the details hidden beneath layers of secretive multi-party negotiations and changing dynamics. Andkey detailsremain in dispute, including the future of Iran's uranium enrichment program and whether the ceasefire applies to Israeli military action in Lebanon,which already threatens to unravel the shaky detente.
As of mid-afternoon April 8, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt acknowledged that while the U.S. has seen some movement, the strait through which 20 percent of the world’s oil passes was not fully open for business.
"We have seen an uptick in traffic in the strait today and I will reiterate the president's expectation and demand that the Strait of Hormuz is reopened immediately, quickly and safely,” Leavitt said.
Later in the day,Vice President JD Vancetold reporters Wednesday in Budapest, Hungary, "If we don't see that happening, the President is not going to abide by our terms if the Iranians are not abiding by their terms."
Smoke rises following an explosion,
after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026.
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Smoke rises following an explosion after the U.S. and Israel reportedly launched an attack against Iran, in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026, in this screen grab taken from video.
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A plume of smoke rises following a reported explosion in Tehran on February 28, 2026. Two loud blasts were heard in Tehran on February 28 morning by AFP journalists, and two plumes of thick smoke were seen over the centre and east of the Iranian capital.
Israel's defence ministry announced it had launched a "preemptive strike" on Iran as sirens sounded in Jerusalem and people across the country received phone alerts about an "extremely serious" threat.
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U.S. President Donald Trump pumps his fist after disembarking Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., February 27, 2026. Hours later, Trump made live comments about the military strikes he launched against Iran.
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Buildings inin Tehran stand after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, February 28, 2026.
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Latest photos capture US and Israeli strikes against Iran
Smoke rises following an explosion,after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026.
Here’s what we know about initial winners and losers in the ceasefire, which was announced just hours before Trump’s 8 p.m. ET deadline on April 7 for Iran to open the straitor face annihilation.
What are both sides saying about the ceasefire?
Trump delayed the strikes on Iran that he said wouldwipe out a “whole civilization”after receiving a 10-point proposal from the Islamic Republic that he said provided a “workable basis” for negotiations.
The morning after the ceasefire was announced, Pentagon chiefPete Hegsethdeclared the U.S. military campaign on Iran a “historic and overwhelming victory.”
Hegseth said the U.S. armed forces “achieved every military objective” set out at the start of the war, including the destruction of Iran’s navy, air force and weapons manufacturing infrastructure.
“President Trumpforged this moment,” he said. “Iran begged for this ceasefire and we all know it.”
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council hasalso claimed victoryfollowing a ceasefire deal Tuesday evening, saying the U.S. and Israel were forced to accept Tehran’s 10-point plan.
Leavitt disputed public claims about the 10-point plan circulating publicly, including by the Iranian government.
The real details, Leavitt said at a White House news conference, are being discussed in back-channel negotiations between Washington and Tehran that are being facilitated by the government of Pakistan. A meeting is set forthis weekend in the capitalof Islamabad and Vance is scheduled to attend, the White House said.
What does Iran's ceasefire proposal actually do?
Iran’s exact proposal has not been made public. But many versions of itcirculating publiclycall for American troops to leave the Middle East, for Iran to continue its control over the strategic strait and to maintain its right to nuclear enrichment.
In a public statement, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said its own officials, and Iran’s supreme leader,Mojtaba Khamenei, approved the plan.
The statement is long and rambling, and full of religious references and attacks on the United States and Israel, Washington’s partner in the war on Iran, as “global evil Zionism,” according to atranslation of it by Middle East Eye, an independent news and analysis site.
But the statement by the Iranian council includes some specifics of Iran’s proposal that it said the U.S. accepts as a starting point, including “controlled passage through the Strait of Hormuz in coordination with Iran’s armed forces” and ending U.S. and Israeli military aggression against Iran and its Lebanese proxy fighting force Hezbollah.
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It also includes the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from all bases and deployment points in the region, the full payment of Iran’s damages from the war and the removal “of all primary and secondary sanctions” against Iran, including the release of all blocked Iranian properties and assets abroad, the statement said.
“Now, the honorable Prime Minister of Pakistan has informed Iran that the American side, despite all outward threats, has accepted these principles as the basis for negotiations and has surrendered to the will of the Iranian nation,” the statement said.
When the details of Tehran’s 10-point plan are finalized, it said, “Iran’s victory on the field shall also be consolidated in political negotiations.”
What is the Trump administration saying?
Both Vance and Leavitt said in their public remarks that elements of the Iranian regime is “lying” about the nature of the ceasefire agreement. Both also emphasized that the truce is a fragile one.
“The Iranians originally put forward a 10-point plan that was fundamentally unserious, unacceptable, and completely discarded,” Leavitt said at the White House briefing.
Leavitt did not disclose any details of the “new modified plan” but said Trump determined it formed a “workable basis on which to negotiate and to align it with our own 15-point proposal.”
“The president's red lines, namely the end of Iranian enrichment in Iran, have not changed,” she said. “And the idea that President Trump would ever accept an Iranian wishlist as a deal is completely absurd.”
Since the ceasefire was announced, conflicting accounts have emerged, for instance, over whether Lebanon is included in the agreement. Pakistan, one of the deal's mediators, and Iran said the pause in fighting would indeed extend to Lebanon. Israel has denied this, while Trump has said the Israeli war on Hezbollah is a "separate skirmish."
What are Trump's critics saying?
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee and vocal critic of Trump,posted on X some detailsof Iran’s 10-point plan that he said was from “an account close to the Iranian leadership.” The account said that during the ceasefire, “only about 10 to 15 ships will be permitted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz with Iran's approval," in coordination with Iran's navy and after payment of tolls and a commitment to remove a U.S. freeze on Iranian assets.
Tehran also “will control and toll the Strait for the first time," the X posting cited by Murphy said. "They keep their nuclear program. They keep their missiles.”
“We are now seeing the shape of why Iran agreed so enthusiastically to this "ceasefire," Murphy said. “What a disaster.”
Another TACO move, or "Trump always chickens out"
Numerous observers said agreeing to a ceasefire with Iran was another example of a Trump “TACO,” short for "Trump always chickens out," a term that first went viral during Trump’son-again, off-again tariff policies.
“This wasno ordinary Trump TACO, this was Trump accepting Iran's victory conditions as the basis of negotiations,” said Phillips O’Brien, professor of Strategic Studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and author of the 2025 book, “War and Power: Who Wins Wars and Why.”
“It looks likely that Iran will emerge stronger from this war than before; a total US strategic failure,” O’Brien said in an April 8 post on X.
'Strong first step toward holding Iran accountable'
Some of Trump’s supporters in Congress cheered Trump’s acceptance of a short-term ceasefire as a smart tactical victory.
“Excellent news,” RepublicanSen. Rick Scott of Florida, said shortly after Trump announced the ceasefire. “This is a strong first step toward holding Iran accountable and what happens when you have a leader who puts peace through strength over chaos and weak appeasement policies.”
“The president has been clear: Iran must NEVER have a nuclear weapon, the Strait of Hormuz MUST be completely open, and our country and our great ally Israel must NEVER be threatened again by Iran or its proxies,” Scott said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Who does Iran war ceasefire help? Trump and Iran both claim victory
WASHINGTON – The Trump administration and Iranian leaders both have claimed victory in thetemporarily paused U.S.-Israel war on Iraneve...
