Trump says ceasefire has begun, after deadly Iran strikes on Israel
Iran fired several waves of missiles on Israel on Tuesday morning, even after Trump said the two countries had agreed to a truce. Israel also further attacked Iran.
"THE CEASEFIRE IS NOW IN EFFECT,' Trump said on Truth Social. "PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT!'
Israel said Tuesday it had agreed to Trump's "bilateral ceasefire."
"Last night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened the cabinet ... to announce that Israel had achieved all the objectives of Operation 'Rising Lion' and much more," the government said in a statement, adding that it had removed "an immediate dual existential threat: nuclear and ballistic."
"Israel thanks President Trump and the United States for their support in defense and for their participation in removing the Iranian nuclear threat," the statement said, adding that "Israel will respond forcefully to any violation of the ceasefire."
Just hours before Trump's announcement, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that "as of now, there is NO 'agreement' on ceasefire or cessation of military operations."
"However, 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 on social media.
Tuesday's Iranian strikes and Trump's comments followed an extraordinary night in which Tehran retaliated against a U.S. attack over the weekend by launching missiles at an American air base in Qatar. The Islamic Republic's move was telegraphed — with Qatar and the U.S. being forewarned — and there were no casualties.
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to address troops at the Al Udeid Air Base southwest of Doha on May 15. |
AFP-JIJI
Trump said the strike at Qatar was "weak' and that Iran had "gotten it out of their system.' He even thanked Tehran for "giving us early notice.'
"Officially, Iran will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 12th Hour, Israel will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 24th Hour, an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR will be saluted by the World,' Trump said in an earlier social media post.
Israel was still striking targets in Iran early on Tuesday, but the explosions in Tehran seemed to stop at about 4 a.m. local time, the BBC reported, citing local residents.
While Israeli officials remained silent overnight, a senior White House official said Trump brokered the ceasefire in a direct conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff held direct and indirect talks with the Iranians about the proposal, the official said.
Israel agreed to the truce as long as Iran did not launch further attacks, and the Iranian government signaled it would abide by those terms, according to the official.
"For now, I think this is going to hold, and I think you will have an end to the war,' said Dennis Ross, who was President Bill Clinton's envoy to the region and is now a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "Iran has no interest in resuming anything soon.'
The developments came about two days after the U.S. suddenly entered the conflict directly by bombing key Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan. Trump said the strikes "completely and totally obliterated' the sites, though battle damage assessments continue and the whereabouts of Iran's enriched uranium stockpile is unknown.
Trump had warned Iran late Saturday that if a peace deal wasn't reached quickly following the strikes that the U.S. would go after other targets in Iran with "precision, speed and skill.'
Tehran vowed to respond to the unprecedented U.S. attack. But opted for a mostly symbolic response: firing missiles at the Al Udeid base in Qatar, which hosts the Middle East headquarters for the U.S. Central Command, the organization that oversees the American military in the region.
The U.S. has around 9,000 service members in Qatar and 50,000 in the Middle East.
Qatar said the Iranian missile barrage was intercepted and the base had been evacuated in advance.
Iran's move on Monday appeared to be "a largely symbolic retaliation,' said Ziad Daoud, Bloomberg Economics' chief emerging-market economist. "Plenty of warning was given — Qatar shut its airspace and the U.S. issued warnings to citizens' in the gas-rich country.
The remnants of an intercepted Iranian missile lie on the pavement near the U.S. Al Udeid Air Base after a strike following American attacks on Iran nuclear sites. |
AFP-JIJI
While Iranian state TV said the missile barrage "forced a ceasefire on the enemy,' some Iranian officials also suggested the move had a performative element to it. The number of missiles fired matched the number of bombs deployed by the U.S. against the nuclear sites.
Iran was quick to say that Qatar, which has strong relations with Tehran as well as Washington, was a "friendly and brotherly country.'
A diplomat briefed on the talks said Trump had spoken with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad and informed him the U.S. got Israel to agree to a ceasefire. Trump asked the Qatari leader for help persuading Iran to do the same. Iran later agreed, according to the diplomat, who asked not to be identified discussing private conversations.
Trump went as far as predicting that a peace agreement between Israel and Iran would be long-lasting, despite decades of enmity between them.
"I think the ceasefire is unlimited — it's going to go forever,' Trump said, adding that he sees the war as being completely finished and does not believe Israel and Iran "will ever be shooting at each other again.'
Many questions remain, including the state of Iran's uranium stockpile and whether any ceasefire will lead to discussions about Tehran's nuclear program. The Islamic Republic, which has denied it's seeking an atomic weapon, has refused to give up the right to enrich uranium, a condition the U.S. has insisted upon.
Iran says it needs to process uranium at least to the low level needed for civilian purposes such as fueling nuclear power plants. Yet the West and Arab states are wary because it's enriched uranium almost to the levels needed to build a bomb, without explaining why.
Israel said its war against Iran was to prevent the country from acquiring atomic weapons, a risk also cited by Trump to justify U.S. involvement. Netanyahu's government has also said it aimed to destroy Iran's stockpiles of ballistic missiles and its launch sites.
While Israel has denied it is not seeking to topple the theocratic government of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, it's officials have said its attacks could bring about such a situation. For now, there's little that will happen.
Speaking to Fox News after Trump announced the ceasefire, U.S. Vice President Vance said that the U.S. bombing over the weekend had met its objectives.
"We know that they cannot build a nuclear weapon,' Vance said, adding that Iran's existing stock of highly enriched uranium was "buried' by the attack. International monitors have said they don't know where that material is after Iran said earlier this month it would move it.
"If Iran is desperate to build a nuclear weapon in the future, then they're going to have to deal with a very, very powerful American military,' Vance said.
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