Trump’s ‘total ceasefire’ falters as Israel announces new strikes against Iran

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday morning said that a ceasefire between Israel and Iran was going into effect, according to a message posted on his social network, Truth. “PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT!” he urged. Late on Monday, he had announced through the same channel a “complete and total ceasefire” to end what he has dubbed “the 12-day war.” Early on Tuesday Israel confirmed it had agreed to the ceasefire, hours after Iranian state television had done the same.

But on Tuesday, Israel’s military said it had detected another Iranian barrage hours after the start of the ceasefire, and announced new strikes against Iran. “I have instructed the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) in coordination with the Prime Minister to continue the intensive operation to strike in Tehran and thwart regime targets and terror infrastructure in Tehran,” said Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, as reported by CNN.

According to the Associated Press, Iran’s military on Tuesday denied it had fired missiles at Israel hours after the ceasefire began, Iranian state television reported. The report cited the general staff of Iran’s armed forces, which includes its regular military and its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. “If Israel makes a mistake, all occupied territories will be attacked, just like an hour before the war stopped,” a senior Iranian official told CNN.

In remarks to reporters at the White House before departing for the NATO summit at The Hague, Trump expressed disappointment about the continued attacks, AP reported. “They violated it but Israel violated it too. I’m not happy with Israel.”

Shortly before the parties accepted the agreement, there had been last-minute attacks by both Iran and Israel, whose government later issued a a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. It was on June 13 that Israel first launched its strikes against Iran on the as yet unproven claim that Tehran was very close to developing the atomic bomb.

On the ground, as observed by the special correspondent for EL PAÍS, Iran launched six waves of missiles on different regions of Israel at dawn on Tuesday. The attacks were kept up until the last minute, as acknowledged on the social platform X (formerly Twitter) by the Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi. “The military operations of our powerful Armed Forces to punish Israel for its aggression continued until the very last minute, at 4 a.m.,” he wrote, thus implying that they were now halting the offensive and accepting the ceasefire.

The last wave of Iranian missiles launched before the ceasefire caused at least four deaths in Israel, according to emergency services. One of them hit a building in the southern city of Beersheba, where the four fatalities occurred. The Soroka hospital, one of the most important in Israel, is also located in Beersheba and was hit last Thursday by another Iranian shell. It is precisely in this health center where the wounded from Tuesday’s bombing are being treated. Two of the victims had taken shelter inside a safe room that sustained a direct hit from the missile, according to local media.

Hours earlier, the head of Iranian diplomacy had denied the agreement, although, at the same time, he asserted that if Israel ceased its attacks on Tuesday, Iran would do the same. “As of now, there is NO ‘agreement’ on any ceasefire or cessation of military operations,” Araghchi posted on X. “However, provided that the Israeli regime stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4 a.m. Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards.”

“It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE,” wrote Trump on Monday. After 6 p.m. Washington time, Trump announced that the cessation of hostilities would take effect in approximately six hours. Iranian television confirmed it, and one of its anchors presented it, according to The New York Times, as a triumph “imposed on the enemy” after Monday’s attack on a U.S. military base in Qatar.

Qatar’s role

The news agency Reuters reported on the essential role of Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, in convincing Tehran to accept the U.S. ceasefire proposal in a call with Iranian officials.

A White House official confirmed the “crucial” role of the Qatari prime minister in a discussion with a group of reporters in Washington. He also said that U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff had helped to bring the parties together. No one wants to be left out of the picture.

Financial markets responded positively to Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire. Oil prices fell by up to 7% on Monday, a trend that continued early Tuesday. With this agreement, fear is dissipating that Tehran might close off the vital Strait of Hormuz, through which a quarter of the oil and a fifth of the gas consumed in the world passes.

“CONGRATULATIONS WORLD, IT’S TIME FOR PEACE!” Trump posted on social media.

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