WASHINGTON: In a 48-hour whirlwind, President Donald Trump veered from elated to indignant to triumphant as his fragile Israel-Iran ceasefire agreement came together, teetered toward collapse and ultimately coalesced.
Trump, as he worked to seal the deal, publicly harangued the Israelis and Iranians with a level of pique that’s notable even for a commander in chief who isn’t shy about letting the world know what he thinks.
The effort was helped along as his aides and Qatari allies sensed an opening after what they saw as a half-hearted, face-saving measure by Tehran on Monday to retaliate against the US for strikes against three key nuclear sites. And it didn’t hurt that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after 12 days of bombing, could tell the Israeli public that Iran’s nuclear program had been diminished.
“This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will!” Trump declared in a social media post announcing the ceasefire.
Netanyahu is less than enthusiastic about Trump’s message
The agreement began taking shape early Sunday morning, soon after the US military carried out blistering strikes on Iranian nuclear sites that US defense officials said have set back Tehran’s nuclear program.
Trump directed his team to get Netanyahu on the phone.
The president told Netanyahu not to expect further US offensive military action, according to a senior White House official who was not authorized to comment publicly about the sensitive diplomatic talks.
The US president made the case that it was time to stop the war and return to diplomatic negotiations with Iran. Trump also noted that the US had removed any imminent threat posed by Iran, according to the official.
For his part, Netanyahu listened to Trump’s argument as Israel was nearing its own objectives with Iran, the official said. Netanyahu did not enthusiastically agree, but understood Trump’s stance that the US had no desire for additional military involvement.
Around the same time, Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff spoke directly with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, telling him to come back to the bargaining table because Iran had seen what the US military could do and that it was capable of doing much more, the official said.
Witkoff stressed that the US wanted peace — and Iran should, too.
The president’s envoy said Tuesday in an appearance on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” that Trump now wants to land “a comprehensive peace agreement that goes beyond even the ceasefire.”
“We’re already talking to each other, not just directly, but also through interlocutors,” Witkoff said. “I think that the conversations are promising.”
Trump ebullient about Israel-Iran deal prospects
Less than 48 hours later, Trump took to his social media platform to announce that a “Complete and Total CEASEFIRE” had been achieved.
The ceasefire was based solely on the end of military hostilities, rather than on additional conditions about Iran’s nuclear program or its economic interests. Trump was acting on the belief that Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons had been crippled.
But as Trump spoke with confidence about the coming ceasefire, the Israelis and Iranians were notably quiet — neither side publicly commented on what Trump described as a deal that would be phased in over the coming hours.
Araghchi spoke out first, acknowledging the wheels were in motion for a deal, but stopping short of saying Iran had signed off.
“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 am Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards.”
Commitment from Iran and Israel to Trump’s ceasefire remained murky
Not long before Trump’s announcement, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei took to social media to declare that Iran wouldn’t surrender. It was unclear what role Khamenei, the ultimate authority in the Islamic Republic’s theocracy, had in the deal.
And Netanyahu was silent. He would wait more than eight hours after Trump’s announcement to confirm that Israel had accepted the ceasefire and that it had achieved its war goals against Iran.
Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said ceasefire efforts gained steam after Iran’s retaliatory attack on a major US base in the emirate on Monday evening.
The Iranians fired 14 missiles at the base — with US and Qatari defense systems knocking down 13. One of the missiles, according to Trump, was “‘set free’ because it was headed in a nonthreatening direction.” Trump also claimed the Iranians gave the US and Qatar a heads up, allowing the troops to take shelter and the Qataris to clear their typically busy airspace.
Qatar plays a key role in the ceasefire talks
Iran’s restrained direct response to the US bombardment suggested to Trump administration officials that Iran — battered by Israel’s 12-day assault — and its degraded proxy groups, including Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Yemen-based Houthis, didn’t have the wherewithal to expand the fight.
Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, had a “long call” with Trump soon after the Iranian attack on the Al-Ubeid military installation, according to the Qatari prime minister.
“There was an opportunity during this communication to announce a full ceasefire on all fronts, and US authorities asked Qatar to contact Iranian authorities to know how prepared they are for a ceasefire,” the prime minister said.
Trump saw the moment as a clear opening
The president soon got back in touch with Netanyahu to secure his commitment to end the hostilities, officials said. The prime minister agreed to the ceasefire, as long as there were no further attacks by Iran, the officials said.
From there, things moved quickly.
Vice President JD Vance was making an appearance on Fox News’ “Special Report” on Monday evening when Trump took to social media to announce the ceasefire deal had been reached and would go into effect over the coming day. The vice president appeared surprised when host Bret Baier told him that Trump had announced a deal had been reached.
“We were actually working on that just as I left the White House to come over here,” Vance said. “So that’s good news that the president was able to get that across the finish line.”
But after Trump’s announcement, the attacks kept coming. Iran launched a series of strikes on Israel after 4 a.m. local time Tuesday in Tehran, the time that Iran’s foreign minister had said Iran would cease its attacks if Israel ended their airstrikes.
And the Israeli prime minister’s office confirmed that Israel launched a major assault hours ahead of the ceasefire’s start, hitting central Tehran. “We attacked forcefully in the heart of Tehran, hitting regime targets and killing hundreds of Basij and Iranian security forces,” the statement read.
Iranian media confirmed nine casualties in the northern Gilan province. “Four residential buildings were completely destroyed and several neighboring houses were damaged in the blasts.” Fars News Agency reported.
A frustrated Trump lashes out
Trump, who was scheduled to depart the White House early Tuesday to fly to the Netherlands for the NATO summit, was livid. His frustration was palpable as he spoke to reporters on the White House South Lawn.
“I’m not happy with them. I’m not happy with Iran, either, but I’m really unhappy with Israel going out this morning,” Trump said. “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f— — they’re doing.”
Minutes later, he took to his Truth Social platform to send a warning to Israel.
“ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS. IF YOU DO IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION,” Trump posted. “BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW!”
Trump climbed aboard Air Force One and was soon on the phone with Netanyahu. He did not mince words with the Israeli leader, according to one of the White House officials. Trump was “exceptionally firm and direct” with Netanyahu “about what needed to happen to sustain the ceasefire.” Netanyahu got the message.
His office confirmed that the Israeli leader held off tougher action after the appeal from Trump and “refrained from additional attacks.”
After the call, Trump once again took to social media to declare the ceasefire was “in effect. ”
“ISRAEL is not going to attack Iran,” Trump declared. “All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly ‘Plane Wave’ to Iran, Nobody will be hurt, the Ceasefire is in effect!”
The president went on to spend a considerable chunk of his flight celebrating what his administration is calling a signal achievement.
“It was my great honor to Destroy All Nuclear facilities & capability, and then, STOP THE WAR!”
