U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday announced that a ceasefire is “now in effect” between Iran and Israel, as he urged them not to violate it.
In a series of posts on his TruthSocial platform, Trump claimed both Tehran and Tel Aviv had approached him and sought peace after 12 days of conflict that saw the two states trade missile strikes; the U.S. target Iran’s nuclear facilities; and Iran retaliate with attacks on U.S. bases in various Gulf states, including Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
“On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran, on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, ‘THE 12 DAY WAR’,” wrote Trump.
There has been no confirmation from Israel regarding the ceasefire, with Israeli military claiming it had detected missiles launched from Iran towards Israel in the early hours of Tuesday. “Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
An Iranian official confirmed to news agency Reutters that Tehran had agreed to a ceasefire, but the country’s foreign minister appeared to backtrack this in a statement on X. Abbas Araqchi wrote that while there was no formal ceasefire agreement, Iran was willing to halt its strikes if Israel did so as well.
“Provided that the Israeli regime stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4 a.m. Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards,” he said, adding a final decision on cessation of all military operations would be made later.
Neither country has reported any attacks since that time.
A senior White House official told Reuters Trump had brokered the deal in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel had agreed so long as Iran did not launch further attacks.
Israel and the U.S. had both claimed they were targeting Iran’s nuclear weapons program, with Trump repeatedly insisting Tehran cannot be allowed to have the bomb. Iran denies ever having a nuclear weapons program, maintaining its nuclear enrichment facilities are intended solely for civilian use.
Israel, which is not a party to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty, is the only country in the Middle East believed to have nuclear weapons. Tel Aviv does not deny or confirm that.