The ceasefire between Israel and Iran announced by the President of United States,Donald Trump, could be in jeopardy, just hours after the parties involved confirmed it earlier this morning. Israel claims that Iran has launched two missiles at their country, something Tehran denies, and Tel Aviv has reacted by accusing Iran of breaking the ceasefire and has therefore ordered "powerful attacks" on Tehran, reports Sal Emergui from Tel Aviv. The Iranian military, on the other hand, has stated that Israel launched three waves of missiles once the truce began.
Trump, before traveling to The Hague for the NATO summit, told Israel to "not drop those bombs" on Iran, hours after announcing a ceasefire between the two archenemies. "ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS," said Trump on his Truth Social platform. "IF YOU DO, IT IS A SERIOUS VIOLATION. BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW!".
The US president announced on Monday afternoon (already Tuesday morning in Spain) a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, a strange action in forms, words and rhythms. In a message on his social network, Trump congratulated "everyone" and stated by surprise that both countries "have fully agreed that there will be a total ceasefire in approximately 6 hours, when both countries have completed their final missions". That is, at dawn in the area. It will be "for 12 hours, at which time the war will be considered to be OVER".
In fact, the sequence itself is even more convoluted and surprising because of the enthusiasm of the president, who ordered the bombing of the Islamic country's nuclear facilities on Saturday and responded yesterday with ballistic missiles against its military bases in the Persian Gulf. "Officially, Iran will initiate the STOP FIRE and, at 12 o'clock, Israel will initiate it and, at 24 o'clock, the world will officially announce the END OF THE 12-DAY WAR. During each ceasefire, the other side will remain peaceful and respectful. Assuming everything works out as it should, which it will, I congratulate both countries, Israel and Iran, for their resilience, courage and intelligence in ending what should be called 'THE 12 DAY WAR,'" Trump explained in a lengthy message on social media.
The confirmation from the parties involved took a while to arrive, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorsed the ceasefire agreement with Iran this morning, after several hours of silence and uncertainty in his country, which woke up to several Iranian missile barrages that caused four deaths in the city of Beer Sheva, as reported by Sal Emergui. After his words, Iran has broken the ceasefire by launching two missiles against Israel, which has stated that it will respond.
"I instructed the Israeli army to respond forcefully to the violation of the ceasefire by Iran through powerful attacks against regime targets in the heart of Tehran," said Defense Minister Israel Katz in a statement.
After stating that Israel achieved "historic achievements" in the military offensive in Iran that began 12 days ago and pointing out the elimination of "a double immediate existential threat, both in the nuclear field and in ballistic missiles," Netanyahu added: "In full coordination with President Trump, Israel has accepted the president's proposal for a bilateral ceasefire. Israel will respond forcefully to any violation of the ceasefire."
However, unofficially the process had already started in the early hours. These twisted paths are inevitable, as summarized by analyst Ali Vaez, an expert in the Crisis Group area, the move implies that Iran starts a truce with a country it does not recognize and with which it does not speak directly, mediated by Qatar, the country it bombed just today, and all proposed by the US, the country that in turn brutally attacked them 48 hours earlier.
However, shortly after 4:00 in the morning, local time, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Sayed Abbas Aragchi, announced, in his own way, that they would start fulfilling their part of the deal. "As Iran has made clear on numerous occasions: Israel started the war, not the other way around. So far, there is no 'agreement' on any ceasefire or cessation of military operations. However, as long as the Israeli regime ceases its illegal aggression against the Iranian people by 4:00 am, Tehran time, we do not intend to continue our response thereafter. The final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later."
Minutes later, in an additional message, the minister confirmed that the shooting had ceased. "The military operations of our powerful Armed Forces to punish Israel for its aggression continued until the last minute, at four in the morning. Along with all Iranians, I thank our brave Armed Forces who remain ready to defend our beloved country to the last drop of blood."
Early in the morning, Trump posted a message on the Social Truth network stating that the ceasefire is in effect and asking for it to be respected: "Please, do not violate it."
The tension is at its peak in any case. Tehran fears it may be a trap, especially after Trump used all kinds of lies and distractions, such as saying he was opting for diplomacy and giving himself two weeks to make a decision last Friday, while his bombers had already received orders to take off towards the Middle East with bunker-buster bombs. Or after noting how Israel continued to attack Gaza after the ceasefire with Hamas.
The international community has cautiously approached the process, as Trump also recently took credit for the end of hostilities between India and Pakistan, for example. He was eager to announce the end of attacks in the region to move on from the nuclear facility bombings, causing a deep divide within the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement he leads. "This is a war that could have lasted for years and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn't, and it 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!" he added in his message.
American media reported White House pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu to effectively halt the attacks. According to these reports, Trump told him it was essential to stop, disregarding Tel Aviv's requests to continue a bit longer and take advantage of the moment to weaken Iran's defenses and air capabilities for the coming years. Throughout Sunday and today, Israel's attacks have continued. Journalists on the ground in Iran were reporting that while Trump was celebrating the ceasefire, explosions were heard in many neighborhoods of the Persian capital.
He took the initiative and called Netanyahu. His vice president reached out to Qatari authorities to mediate with Iran. After obtaining a very conditional - and delicate - approval from both sides, he quickly announced it to the world, attempting to prevent any backtracking.
The U.S. president spent all of Monday sending messages that were hard to associate with something as serious as acts of war and bombings. In one of them, he mocked Iran, saying that their response today with a mild attack on U.S. bases in Iraq or Qatar was "predictable" and "weak." Then, in the same statement, and probably in an unprecedented move in international diplomacy, he "thanked Iran for warning about their missile attack, which prevented casualties." After that, he congratulated "everyone for peace" and bestowed blessings.