The U.S. president announced a complete and total halt to hostilities between Israel and Iran on Tuesday urging both sides not to breach the ceasefire, however, alleged violations may spark further fighting.
The news came despite the fact that at least 8 Israelis were killed and 30 others injured in Iran’s attacks on Beersheba last night.
The fragile truce was initially announced after Iran launched missile strikes on a U.S. base in Qatar on Monday – part of its avowed revenge against Washington for bombing its facilities at Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz the previous day.
Explosions were seen in the skies as Doha successfully intercepted the short and medium range ballistic weapons and condemned the attack as “a flagrant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty, airspace, and international law.”
Mr Trump said Iran gave advance notice of its attack, which is not believed to have caused any significant damage.
Al-Udeid Air Base, which is located in the desert outside the capital Doha, is the largest in the region, hosting around 10,000 U.S. troops.
It serves as the forward headquarters for U.S. Central Command, which directs American military operations across a vast area stretching from Egypt in the west to Kazakhstan in the east.
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In his Truth Social post, Trump said he hoped that the ceasefire would lead to an end of what he called the “12 Day War.”
“CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE!” the president declared. “It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE.”
Initially, Iranian authorities denied a ceasefire offer had been sent but hours later an announcement from both Israel and Iran has been published in which they agree to Trump’s ceasefire.
Accusations of a violation
Israel has accused Iran of violating a ceasefire just hours after it came into effect, with Defence Minister Israel Katz vowing a forceful response on the heart of Tehran.
It comes after the military said it had detected missiles launched from Iran towards Israel on Tuesday morning, soon after prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel has agreed to a Donald Trump-brokered ceasefire with Iran.
Mr Katz has now ordered high-intensity strikes on Tehran, he said.
But Iran has denied breaching any ceasefire and rejects the Israeli claims, state TV said according to Iranian news agency ISNA.
Iran’s armed forces delivered a “humiliating and exemplary response to the enemy’s cruelty”, it said, adding that it culminated in the attack on the U.S. base in Qatar last night and dawn missile strikes on Israel.
The council said Tehran responded to attacks on its territory in a proportional and timely manner, and “forced the enemy into regret and accepting defeat and the unilateral cessation of its aggression”.
“The armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, without any trust to the words of the enemy and with their hands on the trigger, are ready to deliver a decisive and deterring response to any violating act by the enemy.”
It remains unclear whether fighting will resume or if the ceasefire will hold. Trump has not yet responded to the allegations of an Iranian violation.
Pre-ceasefire violence
Iranian armed forces fired almost a dozen missiles towards different targets in the occupied territories as part of retaliatory strikes just before the regime halted its aggression, after overnight Israeli aggression against Iran.
Israeli media reported that at least 11 missiles were launched from Iran in five salvos on Tuesday morning.
At least 8 people were killed and 30 others injured in Iran’s attacks on Beersheba. Air raid sirens also sounded in Haifa and areas in the northern part of the occupied lands.
Explosions were also reportedly heard in Tel Aviv and central occupied territories.
Elsewhere, medical sources in Gaza say Israeli forces have killed at least 37 Palestinians in Gaza since the early hours of this morning.
The deadly attack on Gaza serves as a timely reminder that the Gaza genocide remains ongoing and that Iran, unlike Yemen, is not prepared to fight on until a Gaza ceasefire is secured.
On June 13, Israel launched a blatant aggression against Iran, killing military commanders, nuclear scientists, and ordinary civilians.
On June 22, the United States joined the Israeli regime in the assault and bombed three Iranian nuclear sites in a grave violation of the United Nations Charter, international law, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
The Iranian armed forces promised to “open the gates of hell” to Israel and began waves of punitive missile and drone strikes on sensitive sites across the occupied territories.
A day later, Iran launched a wave of missiles at al-Udeid air base in Qatar — the largest American military base in West Asia.
More on this as it develops…
