Trump: Israel, Iran agree to ‘complete and total ceasefire’
Iran’s FM denies deal but says that if Israel halts attacks, ‘we have no intention to continue’.
(THE TIMES OF ISRAEL) US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that Israel and Iran had agreed to a “complete and total ceasefire,” in what would bring about a startlingly rapid end to the conflict, just hours after Tehran retaliated against Washington for its unprecedented strike on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear sites.
In a Truth Social post published at 5:02pm in Washington (1:02am Israel time), Trump said Israel and Iran would likely exchange final blows over the next six hours before the deal would come into effect on Tuesday. He indicated that Iran would be the first side to hold its fire, followed by Israel.
“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,” he said, congratulating both sides “on having the stamina, courage, and intelligence to end” a conflict that “could have gone on for years.”
There was no immediate Israeli comment on Trump’s announcement.
Reuters cited a senior Iranian official who said on condition of anonymity that Tehran had agreed to the deal, though Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later insisted on X that “as of now, there is NO ‘agreement’ on any ceasefire or cessation of military operations.” He said, however, that the Islamic Republic would not launch further attacks if Israel immediately ceased its strikes.
“As Iran has repeatedly made clear: Israel launched war on Iran, not the other way around,” Araghchi said. “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.”
In a post some 15 minutes later, he claimed Iranian forces continued “to punish Israel for its aggression… until the very last minute, at 4am.”
“Together with all Iranians, I thank our brave armed forces who remain ready to defend our dear country until their last drop of blood, and who responded to any attack by the enemy until the very last minute,” he added.
A senior White House official said the ceasefire was mediated by the US and Qatar, with Trump first calling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier on Monday to secure his support.
After speaking with Netanyahu, Trump then called Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and asked him to bring Iran on board.
The Qatari emir subsequently secured Iran’s backing in a call that took place shortly after Tehran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at the Al Udeid airbase near Doha, which houses thousands of US troops.
Trump earlier claimed that Tehran had given the US advance warning before the strike — a possible sign the attack was largely symbolic, allowing the Islamic Republic to save face following Washington’s bombing of three major nuclear sites early Sunday morning.
After the Iranian strike, Tehran sent a message to the US via Qatar, saying it was not seeking further escalation, according to Axios, citing a source familiar with the matter.
The White House then sent a message back to Tehran saying it would not retaliate for the Iranian strike and was open to a ceasefire.
US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff were all said to be in direct and indirect contact with Iranian counterparts, the White House official said.
According to Israel’s Channel 12 News, before Trump’s conversation with Netanyahu — which came after Iran struck the US base in Qatar — Rubio had spoken with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a close adviser to the prime minister. The network reported Rubio told Dermer that the US hoped to conclude the war following strikes on Iranian missile sites. Dermer reportedly responded that Israel was close to achieving its military objectives.
Seeking to clarify Trump’s convoluted announcement, Vance told Fox News that Israel and Iran were likely to continue exchanging fire for several more hours.
Indeed, the IDF later said it had intercepted several Iranian drones, while loud explosions from apparent Israeli strikes were heard across Tehran after midnight on Tuesday.
Israel, meanwhile, remained on alert for possible Iranian attacks. The IDF Home Front Command said there were no changes to its guidelines following Trump’s announcement — gatherings remained banned and schools and workplaces stayed closed.
Vance also downplayed concerns that Iran retained highly enriched uranium following the US strikes, arguing the operation had successfully prevented Iran from being able to use the uranium for a nuclear weapon.
“Our goal was to bury the uranium, and I do think the uranium is buried,” he said. “But our goal was to eliminate the enrichment programme and eliminate their ability to convert that enriched fuel into a nuclear weapon.”
“If they have 60% enriched uranium, but they don’t have the ability to enrich it to 90% and further, then they don’t have the ability to convert that to a nuclear weapon. That is mission success,” he said, reiterating that Iran’s nuclear programme had been “obliterated.”
The extent of damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities following the US strike on Sunday and Israeli strikes since 13 June has not been independently verified.
Regarding Iran’s ballistic missile programme, Vance initially said it had been “destroyed”, later clarifying it had been “largely destroyed.”
He argued the ceasefire offered Iran the opportunity to “pursue the path of peace,” after having proven that “they’re just not very good at war.”
On the American strike, Vance said the US had demonstrated it could “fly a bunker buster bomb from Missouri to Iran completely undetected without landing once on the ground, and destroy whatever nuclear capacity [Iran] builds up.”
“I think that lesson is what’s going to teach them not to rebuild their nuclear capacity,” he said.
“Tomorrow (Tuesday) is a new day — the end of the 12 Day War, the end of the Iranian nuclear programme, and the beginning of something very big for peace in the Middle East,” Vance concluded.
Times of Israel staff and agencies contributed to this report.
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