US president Donald Trump has claimed that a “complete and total” ceasefire has been agreed between Israel and Iran on Monday.
The ceasefire will come into force early tomorrow morning, Trump claims, ending 10 days of hostilities between the two nations. Neither country has confirmed the ceasefire yet.
“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.
“It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE... for 12 hours, at which point the War will be considered, ENDED!,” Mr Trump posted.
A briefing by White House officials to Reuters suggested that Qatar had helped to broker the ceasefire deal.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani secured Tehran’s agreement to the US proposal for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Iran during a call with Iranian officials held after Iran’s strikes on a US air base in Qatar on Monday, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters.
The phone call came after Trump told Qatar’s emir that Israel had agreed to the ceasefire and asked for Doha’s help persuading Tehran to also agree to the ceasefire deal, the official said.
The claims of a ceasefire came after Iran launched retaliatory attacks targeting the largest US base in the Middle East on Monday.
[ Iran fires missiles at key US base in QatarOpens in new window ]
However, Trump called the move “a very weak response” and thanked Tehran “for giving us early notice” to avoid any casualties.
The US president then claimed Israel and Iran had agreed a “complete and total ceasefire” to be phased in over 24 hours.
Trump also said he would encourage Israel to proceed towards peace.
The attack came after the US bombed three of its nuclear sites over the weekend.
Qatar appeared to have advance warning about Iranian attacks targeting the US-run Al Udeid airbase. The Gulf country temporarily closed its air space, while the US and UK warned citizens to “shelter in place until further notice”, but this was later updated.
Qatar called the missile attacks “a flagrant violation” of its sovereignty, saying it reserved “the right to respond directly”. – Reuters
