UNITED States President Donald Trump has claimed that Israel and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire, urging both nations to embrace peace after nearly two weeks of war.
“The CEASEFIRE IS NOW IN EFFECT. PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT!” he wrote on his Truth Social on Tuesday, June 24.
“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,” Trump further wrote on the platform.
The ICIR reports that despite the alleged agreement, residents reported hearing explosions near Tel Aviv and Beersheba in southern Israel on Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, Iran’s semi-official SNN news agency stated that Tehran launched its final round of missiles just before the ceasefire took effect.
Similarly, Israel’s Ambulance Service and Iranian authorities reported nine people killed in an attack in northern Iran on Tuesday morning.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel had accepted Trump’s ceasefire proposal, stating that the country had accomplished its objective of eliminating Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile threat. However, he warned that Israel would respond decisively to any breach of the agreement.
“Israel thanks President Trump and the United States for their support in defence and their participation in eliminating the Iranian nuclear threat,” Netanyahu said.
WhenTrump announced what he described as a full ceasefire on Monday to end the war, he appeared to indicate that both Israel and Iran would be allowed to complete ongoing military operations before the truce took effect in phases.
His announcement followed a sharp escalation in the conflict, when the US bombed Iranian nuclear facilities, triggering a retaliatory missile strike by Iran on a US base in Qatar the following day.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Tuesday that if Israel stopped its “illegal aggression” against the Iranian people before 4 a.m. Tehran time (0030 GMT) on Tuesday, Iran had no intention of continuing its response afterwards.
“The final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later,” Araqchi added in a post on X.
Israel, with support from the United States over the weekend, launched strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, accusing Tehran of developing nuclear weapons.
Iran has consistently denied pursuing a nuclear weapons programme, but Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned that if the country chose to, “no world leader would be able to stop us.”
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.