It came down to a single decision by Iran's supreme leader in the final hours before what could have been catastrophic war. On Monday and Tuesday, as President Trump publicly threatened to wipe out an entire civilization, Mojtaba Khamenei made a historic move: he instructed his negotiators to pursue a deal for the first time since fighting erupted, according to multiple officials briefed on the closed-door diplomacy.
The parallel tracks of threat and negotiation created extraordinary uncertainty even among Trump's own team. Pentagon officials prepared for massive bombing runs on Iranian infrastructure while remaining uncertain whether the president would pull the trigger. Defense officials admitted they had no idea what would happen. Meanwhile, regional allies braced for Iranian retaliation on a scale never before attempted, and civilians inside Iran began evacuating their homes.
The ceasefire that ultimately prevented that escalation emerged from eleven days of chaotic, back-and-forth negotiations involving Pakistani mediators, Israeli officials, and messages passed between Trump's envoy and Iran's foreign minister. What unfolds is a story of last-minute reversals, miscommunication that nearly derailed everything, and Khamenei's ultimate capitulation delivered through a system of runners passing handwritten notes due to assassination threats from Israel.
The Day It Nearly Fell Apart
Monday morning began with fury. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, described as
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