Israel and Iran have agreed to a “complete and total ceasefire,” which will be implemented gradually over the course of 24 hours, US President Donald Trump claimed on his Truth Social post on Monday night.
As the Israeli military reported it had detected missiles fired from Iran towards the country, Trump claimed that he was contacted by both Israel and Iran nearly at the same time for a ceasefire agreement between the two nations.
Israel, Iran haven’t confirmed about ceasefire agreement
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said if Israel ceases its bombings by 4 a.m. Tehran local time, Iran will cease its attacks. Although no ceasefire was immediately acknowledged by Israel, no Israeli strikes were recorded after 4 a.m.
“As of now, there is NO ‘agreement’ on any ceasefire or cessation of military operations. However, provided that the Israeli regime stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4 am Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards,” Araghchi stated in his post on X.
Iran attacks US air bases in Qatar
Meanwhile, Iran fired 19 missiles towards the US Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, according to a Qatari military officer. One of the missiles struck the base but did not result in any casualties. The number was different from what Trump said, claiming that 14 missiles were fired, 13 were brought down, and one was “set free.”
The president thanked Iran’s leaders for the “early notice,” claiming that Iran warned the US before attacking the military bases. Additionally, he expressed his hope that this would be the only response to the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites.
How the Israel-Iran conflict started
Israel unexpectedly unleashed a barrage of attacks on Iran on June 13, claiming that this was required to stop the nation from developing nuclear weapons. They stated it was an impending threat. Israel has persisted in attacking Iranian targets, while Iran has responded with a string of missile and drone attacks on Israel.
Former US State Department official criticises Trump
Former US State Department spokesperson Ned Price has questioned Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire agreement between Iran and Iraq, calling it “neither verifiable nor permanent.”
“Success would’ve been permanently and verifiably preventing Iran from ever obtaining a nuke, just the type of arrangement Trump needlessly tore up in 2018,” Price, who worked under Trump’s predecessor, for US president Joe Biden, wrote on X.
Under then-President Barack Obama, Iran and world powers reached a nuclear accord in 2015, which Trump decided to renounce.
Price warned that US involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict could lead Tehran “to sprint towards a nuclear device” and urged the Trump administration to “leverage this moment” to seek a new diplomatic agreement.