Soaring, circuit breaker! Asia-Pacific stock markets, a major rebound! Iran announces: Strait of Hormuz open for two weeks

As tensions in the Middle East quickly eased, stock markets in South Korea and Japan surged across the board. South Korea’s composite index jumped by more than 6% at one point, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose by more than 4%. After the Korea Exchange launched the KOSPI index circuit-breaker mechanism following a 5% rise in KOSPI 200 futures, programmatic trading was paused for 5 minutes. International oil prices continued to plunge. WTI crude oil futures at one point crashed by more than 19%, with an intraday low of $91.05 per barrel. According to the news, early on the 8th, Iran’s Foreign Minister Aragchi represented Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and announced that the Strait of Hormuz would achieve safe passage within two weeks.

According to the latest report from China Central Television (CCTV) News, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has invited delegations from Iran and the United States to travel to Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, to hold negotiations. Shehbaz Sharif also said that the ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. will take effect at 3:30 a.m. Iran time on the 8th (8 a.m. Beijing time on the 8th).

It is understood that local time on the 8th, Iran said that the 10-point plan proposed by Iran to the U.S. includes accepting Iran’s uranium enrichment activities.

Stocks in South Korea and Japan surge

In the morning of April 8, Beijing time, the stock markets in South Korea and Japan opened higher and kept climbing. As of the time of writing, South Korea’s composite index was up more than 5%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was up more than 4%. Samsung Electronics shares rose by more than 8%, and SK Hynix shares rose by more than 9%. The MSCI Asia Pacific index rose by more than 2%.

According to a report by CCTV News, in the early hours of the 8th local time, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council issued a statement saying that, based on the guidance of the Supreme Leader and with approval from the Supreme National Security Council, it accepted the ceasefire proposal put forward by Pakistan.

The statement said that Iran has achieved almost all of the goals in this war. The enemy “suffered a historic and complete defeat.” Iran will “continue the struggle until the great achievements it has won are consolidated, and until a new security and political landscape is established in the region,” and decided to hold talks in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, to determine details—“to consolidate the victory results through political negotiations within at most 15 days.”

The statement also said that Iran rejected all the plans proposed by the enemy and developed a 10-point plan, which was submitted to the U.S. through Pakistan. The statement emphasized that all agreements reached through negotiations will become binding international law and will bring Iran an important diplomatic victory.

The statement called on all Iranian people to trust and support this process supervised by Iran’s top leadership and to strictly avoid divisive remarks. The statement also said that if the negotiations fail, Iran is ready to fight.

Earlier, U.S. President Trump posted on social media that, at Pakistan’s request, the U.S. decided to temporarily put on hold the previously planned military strike actions against Iran.

On the 8th, the Secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council released a message stating that Iran will hold two-week political negotiations with the United States in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital—“to confirm the victory achievements made on the ground.”

Iran said the goal of negotiations with the United States is to politically confirm Iran’s battlefield achievements within at most 15 days. The report said that negotiating with the U.S. does not mean ending the war; only after finalizing the details under Iran’s “10-point plan” would it accept the end of the war.

Also, according to a report by The New York Times, a U.S. official said that under the two-week ceasefire agreement, U.S. military strikes against Iran have been stopped.

The U.S. official also said, “The ceasefire will begin on the 7th night (U.S. time), but we believe it may take some time for the order to reach Iran’s frontline forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.”

A senior White House official told CNN reporter in the evening of the 7th that Israel also agreed to pause bombing operations during negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.

An Israeli senior security official said that the ceasefire agreement regarding Iran would cover Lebanon.

Iran Announces: The Strait of Hormuz Will Open for Two Weeks

As tensions in the Middle East quickly cooled, international oil prices continued to plunge. As of 08:00 Beijing time, WTI crude oil futures were down more than 16%, trading at $94.15 per barrel; losses for Brent crude futures widened to 16%. The U.S. dollar index also continued to weaken, falling below the 99 mark for the first time since March 23, with a day-to-day decline of 0.74%.

According to CCTV News, in the early hours of the 8th local time, Iran’s Foreign Minister Aragchi said that in response to Pakistan’s request, he, representing Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, announced that if the U.S. and Israel stop attacks against Iran, Iran’s armed forces will stop retaliating. On the premise of coordinating with Iran’s armed forces, over the next two weeks, ships would be able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz safely to the extent permitted by technical constraints.

A White House official said on April 7 local time that the U.S. ceasefire with Iran would take effect when Iran opens the Strait of Hormuz.

In a post on social media early on the 8th local time, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said, “Diplomatic efforts aimed at peacefully ending the current Middle East conflict are being advanced firmly and forcefully, and are expected to achieve tangible success soon.” To leave room for the diplomatic process, he asked Trump to postpone the “final deadline” by two weeks, and also asked Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz for two weeks as a show of goodwill.

Iran’s Latest Update

According to CCTV News, in the early hours of the 8th local time, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council issued a statement saying that, based on the Supreme Leader’s guidance and with approval from the Supreme National Security Council, it accepted the ceasefire proposal put forward by Pakistan.

The statement said that Iran has achieved almost all of the goals in this war. The enemy “suffered a historic and complete defeat,” and Iran’s side will “continue the struggle until the great achievements it has won are consolidated, and establish a new security and political landscape in the region,” and decided to hold talks in Islamabad to determine details—“to consolidate the victory results through political negotiations within at most 15 days.”

The statement also said Iran rejected all the plans proposed by the enemy and developed a ten-point plan, which was submitted to the U.S. through Pakistan. The plan highlights the following key points:

Coordinating with Iran’s armed forces to control passage through the Strait of Hormuz;

Ending the war against all members of the “Axis of Resistance” and ending the aggression of the Israeli regime;

Withdrawing all U.S. combat forces from all bases and deployment points in the region;

Establishing a safe transit protocol in the Strait of Hormuz to ensure Iran’s dominant position;

Fully compensating Iran for losses based on assessment results;

Lifting all first-tier and second-tier sanctions as well as related Security Council resolutions;

Releasing all Iranian assets and properties frozen overseas;

Finally, all of these matters must be approved through binding Security Council resolutions.

The statement emphasized that all agreements reached through negotiations will become binding international law and will bring an important diplomatic victory to the Iranian people.

Proofread by: Liu Rongzhi