The United States, Iran, and Israel have agreed to a two-week ceasefire in a last-minute deal before the deadline given by US President Donald Trump.
US defence officials were in the dark until Trump made the decisive call regarding the truce with Tehran.
According to Axios, in the hours before the ceasefire was announced, US forces in the Middle East and officials in the Pentagon had been preparing for a massive bombing campaign on Iranian infrastructure.
Hours before Trump's deadline, Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei directed his negotiators to make efforts to move towards a deal.
Chaotic backchannel negotiations began, with Pakistani mediators passing on new drafts between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.
The mediators were given US approval for an updated proposal for a two-week ceasefire by Monday night, which was then given the go-ahead by Khamenei.
