A deal or a mirage? Trump’s Iran ceasefire collides with chaos on the ground | CNN Politics

Less than three hours before President Donald Trump’s 8 p.m. deadline for Iran to make a deal or face his apocalyptic warning of death and destruction, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, the country’s top two military officials, were summoned to the White House. Top military officials, including Caine, were bracing for the beginning of an expanded military operation, while White House aides busily prepared for possible contingencies, including having Hegseth and Caine on hand should the president decide to make a video address to the nation, officials familiar with the matter told CNN. No one was quite sure what Trump was going to do, the officials said. In the end, 90 minutes ahead of his own deadline, Trump announced on Truth Social that a two-week ceasefire deal had been reached, capping off a frantic diplomatic scramble to try to stave off Trump’s threat in the morning that “a whole civilization will die tonight.” Trump’s sudden ceasefire declaration triggered immediate relief across global financial markets. But the announcement also fueled more chaos and confusion over what Trump and Iran had actually agreed to — including w