President Donald Trump announced a temporary ceasefire with Iran at the last minute following his alarming threats over the weekend, and according to a new inside account from Axios, even administration staffers were in the dark and "had no idea what was going to happen" until the deal was announced.
Over the Easter holiday weekend, Trump threatened to wipe out the "whole civilization" of Iran if it did not accept U.S. terms to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, prompting widespread alarm that he would direct the military to commit war crimes by targeting civilian infrastructure. While that ultimatum hung in the air, Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei "instructed his negotiators, for the first time since the war began, to move towards a deal," according to Axios, citing three sources close to the situation.
The report further revealed that many other officials close to Trump were not aware of what was going to happen with the talks until the very last minute.
"As Trump was publicly threatening total annihilation, there were signs of diplomatic momentum behind the scenes — though even sources close to Trump didn't know which outcome to expect right up until a ceasefire was announced," the report explained. "U.S. forces in the Middle East and officials in the Pentagon spent those closing hours preparing for a massive bombing campaign on Iranian infrastructure, and trying to figure out where Trump was leaning."
"We had no idea what was going to happen," an anonymous defense official told the outlet. "It was wild."
In addition to U.S. officials having strike plans in the waiting, other Middle Eastern countries were reportedly bracing for Iran to retaliate against them in response to American aggression "on an unprecedented scale." Within Iran, many civilians were reportedly scrambling to flee before the ultimatum passed.
Negotiations were reportedly "chaotic" throughout Monday, as Trump's special diplomatic envoy, Steve Witkoff, was "very angry" as he fielded numerous phone calls. At one point, he called a counterproposal sent by Iranian negotiators "a disaster, a catastrophe." By Monday night, the U.S. approved a proposal for a two-week ceasefire and had to wait for the blessing of Khamenei. Working under the threat of assassination by Israel, the Supreme Leader communicated "primarily via runners passing notes."
Officials within the Trump administration were also expected to publicly attack those who took issue with Trump's initial threats, claiming that they made the ceasefire possible in the first place.