Donald Trump has warned Israel and Iran against further military action after violence broke out just hours after a ceasefire was negotiated by the American president.
He told reporters outside the White House: “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f*** they’re doing.”
Trump later said the ceasefire was back in effect after a phone call with Benjamin Netanyahu. It appeared the ceasefire was holding on Tuesday evening.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s office confirmed that another strike against Iran had been cancelled following the call.
Earlier on Tuesday , Israel claimed Iran had broken the ceasefire by launching missiles into its territory.
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said Iran had “completely violated” the agreement.
Officials in Israel said the country would respond in kind against Iran’s regime, despite the Islamic Republic’s denial that such a strike had taken place.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump demanded that Netanyahu cease hostilities.
He said: “ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS. IF YOU DO IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION. BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW! DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.”
The president’s comments were echoed by Sir Keir Starmer, who urged both sides to abide by the settlement.
The Prime Minister said: “I want the ceasefire to continue, and therefore, obviously, the sooner we get back to that the better, and that's the message that I'm discussing with other leaders today.
“We've got a ceasefire. We need to get back to that ceasefire, which is consistent with what I've been saying about de-escalation for quite some time now.”
The fragile ceasefire was holding on Tuesday as Netanyahu delivered a televised address in which he said that Israel had achieved a historic victory that would stand for generations, but it must complete its campaign against Iran's axis, defeat Hamas and bring about the return of all the hostages in Gaza.
In video remarks issued by the prime minister's office, Netanyahu said Israel never had a better friend in the White House than President Trump.
Trump was later pictured waving to onlookers as he arrived at a dinner for heads of state at the start of the Nato summit in The Hague.
Earlier as the ceasefire faltered defence minister Katz said he instructed the military to resume targeting Iranian paramilitary and government targets.
Missiles were reportedly launched from Iran into Israeli airspace less than three hours after the ceasefire went into effect.
However, Iranian state media and the country’s officials have denied that any missiles were fired after it began.
It came shortly after Netanyahu said Israel accepted a ceasefire after 12 days of bloody conflict that threatened to escalate into a full-blown Middle East war.
On Monday night, a dramatic few hours saw Trump announce that Israel and Iran had agreed to a complete ceasefire to end a “12-day war”.
A senior White House official said Trump had brokered a ceasefire deal in a call with Netanyahu and Israel had agreed so long as Iran did not launch further attacks.
“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 wrote on his Truth Social site.
Abbas Araqchi said early on Tuesday that if Israel stopped its “illegal aggression” against the Iranian people no later than 4am Tehran time (1.30am BST) 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,” Mr Araqchi added in a post on X.
Israel, joined by the United States on the weekend, has carried out attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities, after alleging Tehran was getting close to obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Iran denies ever having a nuclear weapons programme but Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has said that if it wanted to, world leaders “wouldn’t be able to stop us”.
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. Israel does not deny or confirm this.
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 Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US special envoy Steve Witkoff were in direct and indirect contact with the Iranians, a White House official said.
Hours earlier, three Israeli officials had signaled Israel was looking to wrap up its campaign in Iran soon and had passed the message on to the United States.
Mr Netanyahu had told government ministers whose discussions ended early on Tuesday not to speak publicly, Israel’s Channel 12 television reported.
Earlier on Monday, 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.
He said Iran fired 14 missiles at the US air base, calling it “a very weak response, which we expected, and have very effectively countered.”
Iran’s handling of the attack recalled earlier clashes with the United States and Israel, with Tehran seeking a balance between saving face with a military response but without provoking a cycle of escalation it can’t afford.
Iran’s attack came after US bombers dropped 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs on Iranian underground nuclear facilities at the weekend, joining Israel’s air war.
