Trump announces ceasefire while missiles still fall

The ceasefire between Israel and Iran has begun following "four waves of Iranian attacks on Israeli-occupied territories", Iran's Press TV reported.

The ceasefire agreement was announced by US President Donald Trump shortly after 8am AEST today, ending a 12-day war that led to the destruction of significant parts of Iran's nuclear program by Israel and the United States.

On his Truth Social account, Trump said the ceasefire would begin at 12 a.m. ET. Until then, Israel and Iran would complete their final military missions already in progress.

Despite the announcement, the region remains tense. The Israeli military issued two more evacuation warnings to residents in Tehran, while Iran has continued to launch missiles into Israel. Magen David Adom reported that one of the missiles hit a residential building in Be'er Sheva, killing at least four people and injuring others.

According to Trump, the ceasefire agreement will see Iran observing the ceasefire for the first 12 hours, followed by Israel for the next 12. After 24 hours, an official end to the war would be declared. He added that during each 12-hour period, the opposing side would "remain PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL". 

"CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE! It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE," Trump wrote online. He also claimed the war could have lasted for years and “destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will!”.

A senior White House official told Reuters that Trump brokered the ceasefire during a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while his team was in contact with Iran. The White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Israel agreed to the ceasefire on the condition that Iran would not launch fresh attacks. At the time, Iran signalled that it would abide by the agreement.

However in response to Trump’s announcement, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said there was no ceasefire agreement with Israel – but that Iran would halt its military response if Israel ceased its strikes by 4 a.m. local time.

“As Iran has repeatedly made clear: Israel launched war on Iran, not the other way around,” Araghchi wrote on X. “As of now, there is NO ‘agreement’ on any ceasefire or cessation of military operations.” He added that if Israel stopped its “illegal aggression” against Iran by 4 a.m. Tehran time, “we have no intention to continue our response afterwards”.

Early on Tuesday, Iran launched missiles at a US military base in Qatar, in what it said was retaliation for American strikes on its nuclear sites over the weekend.

The attack, which involved short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, targeted the Al Udeid Air Base, which had reportedly been largely evacuated in advance. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said the number of missiles fired matched the number of bombs dropped by the US days earlier. It stated the strike “poses no danger” to Qatar, which it called “our friendly and brotherly country”.

Qatar later confirmed that Iran fired 19 missiles, of which all but one were intercepted. The one that landed caused no casualties.

A Western intelligence source described the attack as a “symbolic show of force” intended to de-escalate the situation. Jonathan Panikoff, a former deputy national intelligence officer, said the attack “feels choreographed and intentional. The Iranians get to tell their population they struck a mighty blow against the US, even if they didn’t, and Trump has the room now to decide not to retaliate.”

Three Iranian officials told the New York Times that Tehran had warned Doha in advance of the attack, likely to avoid casualties. Meanwhile, CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh observed “an empty base as a target, with many hours warning and a limited number of missiles fired at some of the best air defence systems in the world... Iran’s retaliation can only have been designed to de-escalate.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed Trump’s ceasefire announcement, stating Australia had “consistently called for dialogue, diplomacy and de-escalation”.

“The safety of Australians in the region is our priority. We continue to closely monitor the situation in the Middle East and are deeply concerned about keeping Australians safe.”

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and Acting Shadow Foreign Minister Andrew Hastie also welcomed the ceasefire. “Any step that de-escalates tensions and prevents a wider regional conflict is a moment to be recognised. A ceasefire is a vital step to prevent further suffering and to give space for diplomacy and stability to return,” they said in a statement.

The ceasefire follows US strikes on three major Iranian nuclear sites: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. Trump hailed the attacks as a “spectacular military success”, claiming the facilities were “totally obliterated”.

The Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran confirmed the strikes but said its nuclear program would continue, with Iran claiming the sites had been evacuated in advance. Satellite imagery showed increased truck activity at Fordow before the strikes, suggesting some materials — possibly including uranium stockpiles — had been relocated. Even if the facilities were destroyed, analysts warned this would not eliminate Iran’s nuclear threat. While nuclear infrastructure can be physically destroyed, the technical knowledge developed over decades cannot.

“Ultimately, the question is whether the US-Israeli attacks are seen as sufficient for Iran to capitulate — or whether they instead encourage the regime to accelerate efforts to produce a viable nuclear weapon,” The Guardian commented.

READ MORE 

Trump says 'complete and total CEASEFIRE' agreed between Israel and Iran (Haaretz) 

Trump announces Iran-Israel ceasefire (Barak Ravid, Axios) 

Iran’s nuclear facilities have been smashed, but the race toward a bomb may be gathering pace(CNN)

How effective was the US attack on Iran’s nuclear sites? A visual guide (The Guardian)