Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that he’s agreed to US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire with Iran, hours after Iran’s foreign minister denied any news of an official ceasefire proposal.
On Tuesday afternoon, Netanyahu’s office said that it backed Trump’s call for a ceasefire during a meeting with Israel’s security cabinet, ABC News reports.
Per the publication, the Prime Minister’s office said Israel’s “Operation Rising Lion” was a “tremendous success” and that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) had “removed a dual immediate existential threat — both in the nuclear and ballistic missile field”.
“In addition, the IDF has achieved full air control over Tehran’s skies, inflicted severe damage on the military leadership, and destroyed dozens of central Iranian government targets,” Netanyahu’s office said.
Further in the statement, it was reported that the IDF had killed “hundreds of Badji operatives” and a nuclear scientist.
“In light of achieving the objectives of the operation, and in full coordination with President Trump, Israel has agreed to the president’s proposal for a bilateral ceasefire,” the statement continued.
“Israel will respond forcefully to any violation of the ceasefire.”
While Iran has yet to publicly respond to Trump’s announcement, Reuters reported that an Iranian official claimed Tehran had agreed to a ceasefire.
Trump announces ceasefire between Iran and Israel
On Tuesday morning, US President-elect Donald Trump announced that Iran and Israel had come to a truce via Truth Social. The announcement came after a rapid escalation that saw direct strikes exchanged between the two long-time adversaries.
In his post, Trump wrote:
“CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE! It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE (in approximately six hours from now, when Israel and Iran have wound down and completed their in progress, final missions!), for 12 hours, at which point the War will be considered, ENDED! 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. During each CEASEFIRE, the other side will remain PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL. 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’. This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will! God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!”
What’s actually happening?
According to Trump, the ceasefire would kick in about six hours from his announcement, with Iran pausing its operations first, followed by Israel after 12 hours. When it reaches 24 hours, Trump says the war will be officially over. He praised both countries for their “stamina, courage, and intelligence” in agreeing to end what he called “THE 12 DAY WAR”.
At the time, there were no official confirmation from either the Israeli or Iranian governments about the ceasefire deal.
A senior Iranian official told CNN this morning, some 15 minutes before Trump’s announcement, that Iran has not received any ceasefire proposal and sees no reason to stop fighting, calling recent statements from the US and Israel “deception”.
“At this very moment, the enemy is committing aggression against Iran, and Iran is on the verge of intensifying its retaliatory strikes, with no ear to listen to the lies of its enemies,” the official said.
On Tuesday afternoon, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also posted on X that there is no ceasefire agreement in place. However, they said if Israel “stops its illegal aggression”, Iran may stop firing.
“As Iran has repeatedly made clear: Israel launched war on Iran, not the other way around,” Araghchi said.
“As of now, there is NO ‘agreement’ on any ceasefire or cessation of military operations. However, provided that the Israeli regime stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4am Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards. The final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later.”
Iran has yet to publicly comment on Netanyahu’s announcement and Trump’s Truth Social post.
The ceasefire comes after nearly two weeks of intense conflict between the two nations.
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