Cheering Iranians waving flags celebrated Tuesday’s ceasefire agreement reached between Tehran and Washington.
There was alarm on Tuesday when US president Donald Trump threatened “a whole civilisation will die tonight” if Iran refused to halt hostilities.
While expressing relief the bombing will stop, some Iranians fear the ceasefire will be a mere pause in the punishing five-week war. Others voice concern the US will continue to oppose and try to undermine Iran’s Islamic government.
The caution was echoed by Ali Bahreini, Iran’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva on Wednesday. “We are not putting any trust in the other side. Our military forces are keeping their preparedness ... but meanwhile, we will go for negotiations to see how serious the other side is,” he told Reuters.
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Iranians do not trust Trump, who in May 2018 during his first term withdrew the US from the 2015 agreement which saw Iran limit its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.
Implemented in January 2016, the accord reached by the Barack Obama administration gave Iran access to $100 billion in frozen assets held in foreign banks, lifted restrictions on shipping and aviation, annulled United Nations Security Council resolutions penalising Iran, and ended secondary sanctions on banks and firms dealing with Iran.
As a result, Iran’s economy grew in 2016. In 2017 it was able to invest in key industries, ports, railways, and other key projects.
The deal was signed by Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China as well as the US, and Tehran believed they would implement its terms at least partially. However, the US, still under the first Trump administration, threatened to sanction any countries, firms and individuals breaking ranks.
In April 2025, the second Trump administration and Iran began fresh nuclear negotiations, with Oman as mediator. However, despite the negotiations, the US joined Israel in attacking Iran the following June.
Following mass economic protests from late December to mid-January of this year, Trump told demonstrators “help is on the way” and urged them to “take over” institutions and oust the government.
Iranian authorities responded with a heavy-handed crackdown which killed 7,000, according to official figures, while opposition figures put the death toll at 30,000.
When no “help” turned up, Iranians became antagonistic towards Trump and sceptical of his promises.
[ Trump’s acceptance of Iran’s terms for talks is astonishingOpens in new window ]
