RIYADH/DUBAI: US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel hours after Tehran attacked a US base in Qatar in retaliation for US strikes on military sites in Iran over the weekend.
The Iranians said there was no agreement but will stop attacks if Israel halted too.
The US president said both sides had agreed to a staggered cessation of hostilities until there is an end to the conflict.
Iran will begin observing the ceasefire first, with Israel watching if Tehran complies for the following 12 hours, if it does, then Tel Aviv will join in, bringing to an end what Trump is calling a “12 Day War”.
The deal allows for a six hour window for both sides to wrap up ongoing operations, the president explained in a Truth Social post on Monday evening.
The president wrote: “This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and 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!”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said early on Tuesday that there was no “agreement” on any ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
But he added that if Israel stopped its “illegal aggression” against the Iranian people no later than 4 a.m. Tehran time (0030 GMT) on Tuesday, Iran had no intention of continuing its response afterwards.
“The final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later,” Araqchi added in a post on X.
Around the same time as Trump made the announcement, several loud explosions were heard in Iran’s Karaj and Rajai Shahr, according to local media.
Reports from the Iranian capital said the city was under an intense attack.
A senior Iranian official confirmed to Reuters that Tehran is agreeing to Qatar mediated, US-proposed ceasefire with Israel.
Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 950 people and wounded 3,450 others, a human rights group said Monday.
The Washington-based group Human Rights Activists offered the figures, which covers the entirety of Iran. It said of those dead, it identified 380 civilians and 253 security force personnel being killed.
Human Rights Activists, which also provided detailed casualty figures during the 2022 protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, crosschecks local reports in the Islamic Republic against a network of sources it has developed in the country.
Iran has not been offering regular death tolls during the conflict and has minimized casualties in the past. On Saturday, Iran’s Health Ministry said some 400 Iranians had been killed and another 3,056 wounded in the Israeli strikes.
Iran has not been offering regular death tolls during the conflict and has minimized casualties in the past. (AFP)
Qatar suspends air traffic as precautionary measure: statement
Qatar temporarily suspended air traffic around the country, its foreign ministry said Monday, after nearby Iran threatened retaliation for US strikes on its nuclear sites.
“The competent authorities announce the temporary suspension of air traffic in the country’s airspace, as part of a set of precautionary measures taken based on developments in the region,” the foreign ministry said.
It comes as the US embassy in Qatar advised Americans there to “shelter in place” on Monday, with other Western embassies echoing the warning.
Israeli strikes on Iran may have violated international law, UN mission says
A fact-finding mission mandated by the United Nations said on Monday that some of Israel’s strikes on Iran may have broken international humanitarian law, citing the killing of civilians in an apartment block and three aid workers in the capital Tehran.
“Among those killed in Tehran were dozens of residents of an apartment complex and three humanitarian workers from the Iranian Red Cross, while damaged sites included a clinic for children with autism and a hospital in Kermanshah,” the investigative body said in a statement to journalists.
“This, and the reported lack of effective advance warning by Israel, which may affect the population’s ability to reach safety, raise serious concerns in relation to the principles of proportionality, distinction, and precaution under international humanitarian law.”
However, NATO chief Mark Rutte told reporters on Monday US strikes on Iran over the weekend did not violate international law. He was speaking during a briefing ahead of a summit for the military alliance.
Tehran vows to avenge attack on nuclear sites
Tehran threatened on Monday to inflict “serious” damage in retaliation for US strikes on the Islamic republic’s nuclear facilities, as the Iran-Israel war entered its 11th day despite calls for de-escalation.
Aerial assaults meanwhile raged on, with air raid sirens sounding across Israel and AFP journalists reporting several blasts were heard over Jerusalem.
The Israeli military said it had struck missile sites in western Iran as well as “six Iranian regime airports” across the country, destroying fighter jets and helicopters.
President Donald Trump said US warplanes used “bunker buster” bombs to target sites in Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz, boasting the strikes had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
Other officials said it was too soon to assess the true impact on Iran’s nuclear program, which Israel and some Western states consider an existential threat.
Iranian armed forces spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari said on state television that the US “hostile act,” following more than a week of Israeli bombardments, would “pave the way for the extension of war in the region.”
“The fighters of Islam will inflict serious, unpredictable consequences on you with powerful and targeted (military) operations,” he warned.
Iran foreign minister Abbas Araghchi described Sunday’s attacks “lawless and criminal” behavior. (AFP)
Iran foreign minister to meet key ally Putin
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was due to hold “important” talks with key ally Vladimir Putin on Monday, 48 hours after a major US attack on Iran’s key nuclear facilities.
Moscow is a crucial backer of Tehran, but has not swung forcefully behind its partner since Israel launched a wave of attacks on June 13, strikes that triggered Iran to respond with missiles and drones.
While Russia condemned the Israeli and US strikes, it has not offered military help and has downplayed its obligations under a sweeping strategic partnership agreement signed with Tehran just months ago.
“In this new dangerous situation ... our consultations with Russia can certainly be of great importance,” Russian state media reported Araghchi as saying after landing in Moscow.
Australia says it supports US strike, calls for return to diplomacy
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday that Canberra supported the United States strike on Iran and called for de-escalation and a return to diplomacy.
“The world has long agreed that Iran cannot be allowed to get a nuclear weapon and we support action to prevent that,” Albanese told reporters in Canberra on Monday.
Albanese said “the information has been clear” that Iran had enriched uranium to 60 percent and “there is no other explanation for it to reach 60, other than engaging in a program that wasn’t about civilian nuclear power.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog that inspects Iran’s nuclear facilities, reported on May 31 that Iran had enough uranium enriched to up to 60 percent, if enriched further, for nine nuclear weapons.
“Had Iran complied with the very reasonable requests that were made, including by the IAEA, then circumstances would have been different,” said Albanese, referring to limitations on enrichment.
