The ceasefire agreed between Iran and the United States should bring some relief to a world economy that has been roiled since the start of hostilities on February 28, even if not all sectors will rebound at the same pace.

- Oil prices -

The ceasefire sent oil prices tumbling, with the main international contracts falling below $100 a barrel.

That should bring relief for retail customers at the pump, where surging petrol prices in recent weeks have forced many countries to take measures to reduce consumption and protect the most vulnerable.

April 8 (Reuters) - The United States, Israel and Iran have agreed to a two-week ceasefire, reached with Pakistani mediation, and U.S. and Iranian officials are expected to hold talks on Friday to discuss a long-term settlement.

While Tehran and Washington have agreed to talks, Iran's 10-point proposals - which U.S. President Donald Trump said offered a "workable basis" for negotiations - show little overlap with a 15-point plan Washington previously put forward, suggesting there will be major gaps to bridge.

ANKARA, April 8 (Reuters) - Turkey’s intelligence agency played a key role in diplomatic efforts leading to a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran, Turkish media reported on Wednesday, citing security sources.

Washington agreed late on Tuesday to the truce, brokered by Pakistan, in a conflict that has spread across the Middle East and disrupted global energy supplies.

April 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that the United States has had a decisive military victory over Iran and that Tehran's missile program has been functionally destroyed.

Hegseth and General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke to reporters a day after President Donald Trump pulled back from the brink of a threatened full-on assault on Iran on Tuesday night, two hours before a deadline he had set for Tehran to open the blockaded Strait of Hormuz.

By Dominique Vidalon

PARIS, April 8 (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday welcomed home two French nationals released after three and a half years in detention in Iran, calling their return "the end of a terrible ordeal."

Cecile Kohler, 41, and Jacques Paris, 72, had been confined to France's embassy in Tehran since November, after being held since 2022 in the notorious Evin prison on spying charges that France has said were unfounded.

DUBAI, April 8 (Reuters) - Iran could open the Strait of Hormuz in a limited and controlled way on Thursday or Friday ahead of a meeting between U.S. and Iranian officials in Pakistan, a senior Iranian official, involved in the talks, told Reuters on Wednesday.

"If an understanding on a framework for talks is reached, the strait could be opened "limited, under Iran's control," the official said.

By Giselda Vagnoni

ROME, April 8 (Reuters) - Italy will not send any ships to help police the Hormuz Strait area following a ceasefire between the United States and Iran unless it is authorised by the United Nations, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Wednesday.

"It is not on the agenda. We have already said that we will not send ships unless there is a United Nations initiative," Salvini, who is also infrastructure minister in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's conservative government, told reporters.

WASHINGTON, April 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said any country supplying Iran with military weapons will face immediate 50% tariffs with no exemptions, announcing the duty in a social media post one day after agreeing to a two-week ceasefire with Tehran.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Sharon Singleton)

April 8 (Reuters) - The Israeli military said on Wednesday it had carried out the largest strikes against Lebanon's Hezbollah since this war began, striking the militant group's infrastructure within the heart of civilian areas across the country.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Sharon Singleton)

President Donald Trump promised "regime change" in Iran but the Islamic republic has emerged intact from the US-Israeli war, leaving opponents and activists disappointed and frightened.

With Iranian officials hailing the last-minute ceasefire as a triumph for the system that took power in the 1979 Islamic revolution, rights groups now fear emboldened authorities will launch a mass new domestic crackdown.