DOHA/ISTANBUL/TEL AVIV/WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said late on Monday that a ceasefire has been agreed between Israel and Iran.
“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!,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The statement came hours after he urged Iran to seek peace with Israel, saying he did not expect further retaliation from Tehran following its missile attack on a US base in Qatar. “Congratulations world—it’s time for peace’, President Donald Trump said.
Iran has “gotten it all out of their ‘system,’ and there will, hopefully, be no further HATE,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform. “Perhaps Iran can now proceed to Peace and Harmony in the Region, and I will enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same,” Trump added.
He dismissed Iran’s retaliatory strikes that targeted a US base in Qatar as “very weak,” while welcoming “early notice” given by Tehran. “Iran has officially responded to our Obliteration of their Nuclear Facilities with a very weak response, which we expected, and have very effectively countered,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, after multiple missiles were launched towards the Al Udeid base in Qatar. “I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured,” he added.
The missile strikes drew condemnation from Saudi Arabia and UAE, as Saudi Arabia lambasted Iran for its “unjustifiable” attack on US base in Qatar, offering to deploy “all its capabilities” to support Doha, with whom it has had fraught relations in the past. The United Arab Emirates also denounced in the “strongest terms” the attack. The UAE “condemns in the strongest terms the Iranian Revolutionary Guard´s targeting of Al Udeid Air Base in the sisterly State of Qatar, considering it a flagrant violation of Qatar´s sovereignty and airspace,” Abu Dhabi´s foreign ministry said in a statement carried by official news agency WAM.
Qatar said the security situation was “stable” following an Iranian missile attack that targeted a US base on its territory in retaliation for American attacks on Iran nuclear sites. “The Ministry of Interior confirms… that the security situation in the country is stable, and there is no cause for concern,” the government said in a statement. “We affirm that the State of Qatar reserves the right to respond directly in a manner proportional to the nature and scale of this blatant aggression,” foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said in a statement.
Earlier, Iran launched missiles at US military bases in Qatar and Iraq, official media reported, in what state TV called a “powerful” response to recent American strikes on key nuclear sites. AFP reporters heard blasts in central Doha and in Lusail, north of the capital, and saw projectiles moving across the night sky. A US defence official said Al Udeid was “attacked by short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles originating from Iran”, adding there were no immediate reports of casualties. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said six missiles had hit the base, according to state media.
Last week, dozens of US military aircraft were no longer on the tarmac at Al Udeid, according to satellite images published by Planet Labs PBC and analysed by AFP. “The operation of Iranian missiles against American bases located in Qatar and in Iraq has begun, and is called ‘Blessing of Victory’,” the official press agency IRNA said. AFP journalists reported hearing explosions in Doha, the capital of Qatar, home to the largest US base in the region. Qatar Defence Ministry official says seven missiles were launched from Iran towards US airbase in Qatar. Iran, which had been warned by Washington not to retaliate or face massive U.S. military action, had informed the U.S. via two diplomatic channels hours ahead of the attack, as well as Qatari authorities, a senior regional source told Reuters.
Iran’s National Security Council confirmed having targeted the base “in response to the US aggressive and insolent action against Iran’s nuclear sites and facilities”. In its statement, the council said the number of missiles used “was the same as the number of bombs that the US had used”, in a signal that it had calibrated its response to be directly proportional.
Qatar’s defence minister, quoted by Al Jazeera TV, said its air defences had intercepted missiles directed at the Al Udeid airbase, the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East, situated across the Gulf from Iran. Iran’s security council maintained that its “action does not pose any threat to our friendly and brotherly country, Qatar”. But Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said his country “reserves the right to respond directly in a manner proportional to the nature and scale of this blatant aggression”. Shortly before, Qatar, a small, wealthy Gulf Arab state, announced it had closed its air space temporarily to ensure the safety of residents and visitors. That followed an advisory from the U.S. embassy in Qatar to Americans to shelter in place, out of what it said was “an abundance of caution”.
Iranian official press agency IRNA had reported that missiles were also launched at a US base in Iraq, though the National Security Council made no mention of Iraq in its statement. The U.S. Ain al-Asad air base in Iraq had activated its air defence system out of concern of a potential attack, military sources told Reuters. Iraqi security and military sources told AFP that Iran had not attacked US bases there “so far”.
Iraq’s foreign ministry warned of a “broader confrontation” and heightened tension in the region after Iran attacked a US base in Qatar. Iraq has repeatedly warned “against the danger of new parties getting involved in the conflict, which could lead to a broader confrontation and further regional tension,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Iran coordinated its strikes on U.S. bases in Qatar, prompting air space closure, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. The New York Times, which first reported the coordination, said Iran took the action to minimize casualties. Qatar said it “reserved the right to respond” after Iran attacked the US Al Udeid base hosted in the Gulf state, the largest American military facility in the region.
In a statement, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman said the US base had been evacuated as a precaution ahead of the attack. Qatar also temporarily suspended air traffic across the country and some Western embassies advised their citizens there to shelter in place. The US embassy in Qatar advised Americans there not to go out, with other Western embassies echoing the warning. Britain and Canada later cited the US security alert in their own recommendations to nationals. In Bahrain, which hosts the US Fifth Fleet, the American embassy had temporarily shifted a portion of its employees to local telework on Monday, it said on X.
Earlier, Israel bombed a jail for political prisoners in Tehran in a potent demonstration that it was expanding its targets beyond military and nuclear sites to aim squarely at the pillars of Iran’s ruling system. Blasts were heard in the north of Tehran, according to an AFP journalist, who reported yellow flashes typical of Iranian air defences in the sky over the capital shortly before 9:00 pm (1730 GMT). Defence Minister Israel Katz aid the targets included the notorious Evin prison in the city’s north, known to hold political prisoners and dissidents as well as foreign detainees. Iran’s judiciary confirmed Evin was struck, reporting “damage” and stressing the situation was “under control”. Israel also carried out a strike on Fordo, according to the military and Iranian media.
Semi-official Mehr News Agency reported Israeli strike on Bandar Abbas port that killed three members of Iranian Navy.
Israel is looking to wrap up its campaign in Iran soon and has passed the message on to the United States, according to three Israeli officials, though much depends on its adversary’s next move. According to two other officials, Israeli leaders are trying to work out the precise exit strategy that will conclude the campaign and end Iran’s missile and drone attacks, to avoid tit-for-tat strikes paralysing the country. Another source briefed on the matter said that the military has signalled that it was close to achieving its goals.
Israel has moved into a tightened wartime posture: non-essential businesses are closed, schools are shut and its airspace sealed to all but a handful of flights. Israel’s vibrant economy cannot afford prolonged lockdown. And Israelis have already been growing increasingly weary of the war against Iran’s ally Hamas in Gaza.
Also Iran fired barrages of ballistic missiles across the length of Israel, sending millions of people fleeing into bunkers as interceptor rockets sped into the sky knocking out most, but not all, of the incoming projectiles. Iranian media, said Israel’s strikes hit a power supply system in Tehran, triggering temporary outages. Israel’s national electricity company reported “damage near a strategic infrastructure facility” in the south that disrupted the power supply, without naming the location or specifying the cause. The country’s military censorship rules bar the publication of some details about damage in Israel. In a message on social media site X, Iran’s supreme leader Khamenei said ‘We didn’t aggress anyone. And we will not accept any aggression from anyone under any circumstances’
Iran’s armed forces chief of staff Abdolrahim Mousavi vowed that the country would take “firm action” in response to US strikes on key nuclear sites. “This crime and desecration will not go unanswered,” said Mousavi in a video statement published on state TV, adding that “we will take firm action against the American mistake”. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency said the parliament committee had approved general plan to suspend cooperation with the IAEA.
Donald Trump thought Iranians should overthrow their government if it refuses to negotiate on its nuclear programme, but the US president is “still interested” in diplomacy, the White House said. “If the Iranian regime refuses to come to a peaceful diplomatic solution, which the president is still interested and engaging in, by the way, why shouldn’t the Iranian people take away the power of this incredibly violent regime that has been suppressing them for decades?” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News. Top US general Dan Caine has said early assessments indicated the US strikes caused “extremely severe damage” at all three nuclear sites. Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that it had not been possible to assess the underground damage at Fordo. “Armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place,” he added.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed attacks on Iran as “unprovoked” and “unjustified” in a meeting with Tehran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, but did not announce any concrete support to his key ally in the Middle East.
Moscow is a crucial backer of Iran, but has not swung forcefully behind its partner. “This absolutely unprovoked aggression against Iran is unjustified,” Putin said in televised remarks to Araghchi at the start of their meeting.
The Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov downplayed the exchange after the talks by saying “they were unlikely to be effective” during such a “heated moment”. Araghchi later said the meeting was “very good” and that Russia’s stance on the issue remained “firm”, noting its role in the UN Security Council.
Russia was “making efforts to help the Iranian people”, Putin said in the meeting, without elaborating. Asked what specific support Russia might offer, Peskov told reporters: “It all depends on what Iran needs. We have offered our mediation services.” Putin has pitched himself as a mediator between Iran and Israel.
In another development, French President Emmanuel Macron said US strikes on Iran were not legal, but that France supported the objective of keeping Tehran from developing nuclear arms. The French head of state also voiced his opposition to any intention of a regime change in Iran through military means. Macron added that Israeli strikes on Iran’s Evin prison had nothing to do with Israel’s “stated objectives” of destroying the nuclear programme and had endangered civilians.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported that in order to sow confusion and intimidate senior Iranian leadership, Israeli warned a top Iranian general: You have 12 hours to escape. In the hours after Israel launched its first wave of strikes against Iran on June 13, Israeli intelligence operatives launched a covert campaign to intimidate senior officials. They called senior Iranian officials on their cellphones and warned them that they, too, would die unless they ceased supporting the regime of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. One of them estimated that more than 20 Iranians in positions of power were contacted. The Washington Post obtained an audio recording and transcript of one such call.
According to Washington Post, a general of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was told he had 12 hours to make a video disassociating himself from the Iranian government. “How should I send it to you?” the general replied, the Washington Post reported. “I will send you a Telegram ID,” the operative said. “Send it.” It is unclear whether such a video was made or sent. The general is believed to be still alive and in Iran, said one of the people familiar with the operation.
Meanwhile, Israeli media, citing senior defense officials, report that Israel is preparing to end its military operations against Iran within “a few days.” The developments follow a series of strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, which Israeli defense observers claim were successful.
Despite initial objectives, Israeli sources acknowledge the failure to overthrow Iran’s government or achieve regime change. Still, Israeli officials remain committed to supporting Iranian opposition groups aiming to remove Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Israeli military has adopted a cautious stance, with a spokesperson neither confirming nor denying the end of hostilities. Analysts interpret this as a sign that a formal de-escalation could be imminent.
While Tehran is considering suspending its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the speaker of Iran´s parliament said Monday.
In parliament, “we are seeking to pass a bill to suspend Iran´s cooperation with the IAEA”, speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf said on X, accusing the UN´s nuclear watchdog of lacking objectivity and professionalism. The IAEA in June adopted a resolution condemning Tehran´s failure to cooperate with the agency with regard to its nuclear programme.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump attacked senior Russian official Dmitry Medvedev in a rambling Truth Social post after the former Russian president accused Trump of having “pushed the U.S. into another war” and suggested other countries would supply Iran with nuclear weapons—moments before Iran fired missiles at a U.S. military base in Qatar.
Trump warned that the US is willing and able to use “the most powerful and lethal weapons ever built” after Russia’s former president suggested “a number of countries” could help Iran rebuild its nuclear program.
On Sunday, Dmitry Medvedev, who served as Russia’s president from 2008 to 2012, rebuked the previous day’s US strikes on three key Iranian nuclear facilities, warning on X: “The enrichment of nuclear material — and, now we can say it outright, the future production of nuclear weapons — will continue.” “A number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads,” added Medvedev, who has a history of aggressive and outlandish statements on social media.
