Trump announces Israel-Iran ceasefire
By
Steve Holland, Andrew Mills
and
Parisa Hafezi
, Reuters
US President Donald Trump.
Photo:
CHIP SOMODEVILLA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP
US President Donald Trump says a "complete and total"
ceasefire between Israel and Iran
will go into force with a view to ending the 12-day conflict between the two nations, moments after both sides threatened new attacks.
While an Iranian official confirmed that Tehran had agreed to a ceasefire, there was no immediate comment yet from Israel.
A senior White House official said Israel had agreed so long as Iran did not
launch further attacks
and that Trump brokered the deal in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump appeared to suggest that Israel and Iran would have some time to complete any missions that were underway, at which point the ceasefire would begin in a staged process.
"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'," he wrote on his Truth Social site.
Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani secured Tehran's agreement during a call with Iranian officials, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters on Tuesday (US Time).
Trump told Qatar's emir that Israel had agreed to the ceasefire, according to the official.
Neither Iran's UN mission nor the Israeli embassy in Washington immediately responded to separate requests for comment from Reuters.
Hours earlier, three Israeli officials had signalled Israel was looking to wrap up its campaign in Iran soon and had passed the message on to the United States.
Netanyahu had told government ministers whose discussions ended early on Tuesday (US Time) not to speak publicly, Israel's Channel 12 television reported.
S&P 500 futures rose 0.4 percent late on Monday, suggesting traders expect the US stock market to open with gains on Tuesday (US Time).
US crude futures fell in early Asian trading hours on Tuesday (US Time) to their lowest level in more than a week after Trump said a ceasefire had been agreed, relieving worries of supply disruption in the region.
This UGC image posted on social media on 23 June 2025 shows a plume of smoke billowing after Israeli strikes in Tehran the same day.
Photo:
AFP Photo / UGC / Anonymous
There did not appear to be calm yet in the region.
The Israeli military issued two evacuation warnings in less than two hours to residents of areas in the Iranian capital Tehran, one late on Monday and one early on Tuesday (US Time).
Israeli Army radio reported early on Tuesday (US Time) that alarms were activated in the southern Golan Heights area due to fears of hostile aircraft intrusion.
Earlier on Monday (US Time), Trump said he would encourage Israel to
proceed towards peace
after dismissing Iran's attack on an American air base that caused no injuries and thanking Tehran for the early notice of the strikes.
Iran's attack came after US bombers dropped 30,000-pound bunker-busters on Iranian underground nuclear facilities at the weekend, joining Israel's air war against Iran in a conflict that has entered its 12th day.
Much of Tehran's population of 10 million has fled after days of bombing.
The Trump administration maintains that its aim was
solely to destroy Iran's nuclear programme
, not to open a wider war.
But in a social media post on Sunday (US Time), Trump spoke of toppling the hardline clerical rulers who have been Washington's principal foes in the Middle East since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Israel, however, had made clear that its strikes on Evin prison - a notorious jail for housing political prisoners - and other targets in Tehran were intended to hit the Iranian ruling apparatus broadly, and its ability to sustain power.
- Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
Iran could be enriching uranium within months. IAEA chief says
Comments from the head of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi have been reported raising doubts about the effectiveness of the US strikes against Iran's nuclear programme. Photo: United Nations IAEA - D Calma Iran could be producing enriched uranium in a few months, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog Rafael Grossi has been quoted as saying, raising doubts about how effective US strikes to destroy Tehran's nuclear programme have been. US officials have stated that their strikes obliterated key nuclear sites in Iran, although US President Donald Trump said on Friday (US time) he would consider bombing Iran again if Tehran is enriching uranium to worrisome levels. "The capacities they have are there. They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that," Grossi told CBS News in an interview. "Frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there," he added, according to the transcript of an interview on Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan due to air on Sunday US time. Saying it wanted to remove any chance of Tehran developing nuclear weapons, Israel launched attacks on Iran earlier this month, igniting a 12-day air war that the US eventually joined. Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only. Damage to the Isfahan nuclear enrichment facility in central Iran after US strikes. Photo: AFP / Satellite Image Maxar Technologies Grossi, who heads the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, said the strikes on sites in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan had significantly set back Iran's ability to convert and enrich uranium. However, Western powers stress that Iran's nuclear advances provide it with an irreversible knowledge gain, suggesting that while losing experts or facilities may slow progress, the advances are permanent. "Iran is a very sophisticated country in terms of nuclear technology," Grossi said. "So you cannot disinvent this. You cannot undo the knowledge that you have or the capacities that you have." Grossi was also asked about reports of Iran moving its stock of highly enriched uranium in the run-up to the US strikes and said it was not clear where that material was. "So some could have been destroyed as part of the attack, but some could have been moved," he said. - Reuters
RNZ News
14 hours ago
- RNZ News
Trump's sweeping tax-cut, spending bill clears first US Senate hurdle
Trump on social media hailed the "great victory" for his "great, big, beautiful bill." Photo: SAUL LOEB / AFP By David Morgan and Nicole Johnson , Reuters The Republican-controlled US Senate narrowly advanced President Donald Trump's, sweeping tax-cut and spending bill , during a marathon weekend session marked by political drama, division and lengthy delays as Democrats sought to slow the legislation's path to passage. Lawmakers voted 51-49 to open debate on the 940-page megabill, with two of Trump's fellow Republicans joining Democrats to oppose the legislation that would fund the president's top immigration, border, tax-cut and military priorities. Trump on social media hailed the "great victory" for his "great, big, beautiful bill." After hours of delay, during which Republican leaders and Vice President JD Vance worked behind closed doors to persuade last-minute holdouts to support the measure, Democrats demanded that the megabill first be read aloud in the chamber - a task that could delay the start of the debate until Sunday afternoon (US time). Democrats say the bill's tax cuts would disproportionately benefit the wealthy at the expense of social programs for lower-income Americans. "Senate Republicans are scrambling to pass a radical bill, released to the public in the dead of night, praying the American people don't realise what's in it," Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor. "Democrats are going to force this chamber to read it from start to finish," he said. Once the bill has been read, lawmakers will begin up to 20 hours of debate on the legislation. That will be followed by a marathon amendment session, known as a "vote-a-rama," before the Senate votes on passage. Lawmakers said they hoped to complete work on the bill on Monday. Republican Senators Thom Tillis and Rand Paul voted against opening debate, a move that seemed for a time to be in danger of failing. Trump attacked Tillis, who opposed the bill's cuts to the Medicaid healthcare program for lower-income Americans, which he said would be devastating for his native North Carolina. Tillis is up for reelection next year. "Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against 'Senator Thom' Tillis. I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks," the president posted. Paul opposed the legislation because it would raise the federal borrowing limit on the $36.2t US debt by an additional $5t. "Did Rand Paul Vote 'NO' again tonight? What's wrong with this guy???" Trump said on social media. The vote was in limbo for hours as Vance, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other top Republicans sought to persuade last-minute holdouts to support the legislation. It was not clear what deals if any were struck to win over their support. Hardline Republican Senators Rick Scott, Mike Lee and Cynthia Lummis, who want deeper cuts in federal spending, voted to support the bill in the end. Another hardliner, Senator Ron Johnson, initially voted no but flipped his vote and backed the legislation. Trump was monitoring the vote from the Oval Office late into the night, a senior White House official said. The megabill would extend the 2017 tax cuts that were Trump's main legislative achievement during his first term as president, cut other taxes and boost spending on the military and border security. The nonpartisan Joint Tax Committee released an analysis projecting that the Senate bill's tax provisions would reduce government revenue by $4.5t over the next decade, increasing the $36.2tUS government debt. The White House said this month the legislation would reduce the annual deficit by $1.4t. The world's richest person, Elon Musk, also took a swipe at the bill, which would end tax breaks for the electric vehicles that his automaker Tesla manufactures. The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country! Utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future. Calling the bill "utterly insane and destructive," he risked reigniting a feud with Trump that raged earlier this month, before Musk backed down from his rhetoric. "The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country!" Musk wrote in a post on his social media platform X. Republicans from states with large rural populations have opposed a reduction in state tax revenue for Medicaid providers, including rural hospitals. The newly released legislation would delay that reduction and would include $25 billion to support rural Medicaid providers from 2028 to 2032. The legislation would raise the cap on federal deductions for state and local taxes to $40,000 with an annual 1 percent inflation adjustment through 2029, after which it would fall back to the current $10,000. The bill would also phase the cap down for those earning more than $500,000 a year. That is a major concern of House Republicans from coastal states, including New York, New Jersey and California, who play an important role in keeping the party's narrow House majority. Republicans are using a legislative manoeuvre to bypass the Senate's 60-vote threshold to advance most legislation in the 100-member chamber. Democrats will focus their firepower with amendments aimed at reversing Republican spending cuts to programs that provide government-backed healthcare to the elderly, poor and disabled, as well as food aid to low-income families. The bill also would raise the Treasury Department's debt ceiling by trillions of dollars to stave off a potentially disastrous default on the nation's debt in the coming months. If the Senate passes the bill, it will then return to the House of Representatives for final passage before Trump can sign it into law. The House passed its version of the bill last month. - Reuters
RNZ News
15 hours ago
- RNZ News
Trump slams Israel's prosecutors over Netanyahu corruption trial
By Ryan Patrick Jones and Mike Stone, Reuters US President Donald Trump (R) and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP President Donald Trump has lashed out at prosecutors in Israel over the corruption trial that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced, saying Washington - having given billions of dollars worth of aid to Israel - was not going to "stand for this". Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 in Israel on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust - all of which he denies. The trial began in 2020 and involves three criminal cases. "It is INSANITY doing what the out-of-control prosecutors are doing to Bibi Netanyahu," Trump said in a Truth Social post, adding that the judicial process was going to interfere with Netanyahu's ability to conduct talks with Palestinian militants Hamas and Iran. Trump's second post over the course of a few days defending Netanyahu and calling for the cancellation of the trial went a step further to tie Israel's legal action to US aid. "The United States of America spends Billions of Dollar a year, far more than on any other Nation, protecting and supporting Israel. We are not going to stand for this," Trump said. Netanyahu "right now" was in the process of negotiating a deal with Hamas, Trump said, without giving further details. On Friday (US Time), the Republican president told reporters that he believed a ceasefire was close. Hamas has said it was willing to free remaining hostages in Gaza under any deal to end the war, while Israel said it could only end if Hamas was disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms. Interest in resolving the Gaza conflict has heightened in the wake of the US and Israeli bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities. A ceasefire to the 12-day Israel-Iran conflict went into effect early this week. - Reuters
