US President Donald Trump has announced a “complete and total” ceasefire between Israel and Iran even before the warring factions made such announcement.
The American leader’s announcement late on Monday occurred hours after Iran fired missiles at a US base in Qatar, in retaliation for Sunday’s American attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.
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The Iranian missiles were intercepted by Qatar, which had reportedly been warned about them by Iran.
“On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran, on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, ‘THE 12 DAY WAR,’” Mr Trump wrote in a social media post.
“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!”
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In response, Iran said it would stop its attacks only if Israel stops.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said there is no agreement on a ceasefire, but Tehran will halt attacks if Israel stops its “illegal aggression” by 4 a.m. local time (00:30 GMT) on Tuesday, Al Jazeera reports.
Israel has not confirmed the ceasefire as of press time.
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However, both sides were still attacking each other when Mr Trump made the announcement, with sounds of explosions heard in various parts of Iran and Israel.
PREMIUM TIMES reports that the Israel-Iran war started on 13 June when Israel unilaterally attacked Iran, leading to condemnations from many countries, including Nigeria, China and Saudi Arabia.
However, many Western countries, including the US, UK and Germany, refused to condemn Israel for the attacks, although all countries called for diplomacy.
Israel said the attacks were preemptive to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons. The attacks occurred two days before Iran and the US were to continue talks over Iran’s nuclear programme, which Tehran insists is for peaceful purposes.
In response to the Israeli air attacks, Iran launched missiles and drones at Israel, and both sides have continued their attacks since then.
Israel has mainly utilised air raids, indicating its air superiority, while Iran has mostly used ballistic missiles and drones, many of which have successfully struck various parts of Israel.
Hundreds of Iranians have been killed in the Israeli strikes, while dozens of Israelis have been killed in Iranian attacks. Several civilian and military buildings and infrastructure have been damaged in both countries.
As the fighting raged, Israeli officials and the powerful pro-Israel lobby in the US mounted pressure on President Trump for the US to join the war.
READ ALSO: US joins Israel-Iran war, bombs Iran’s nuclear facilities
Although the American leader initially resisted and said the US was not involved in attacks on Iran, he appeared to have capitulated when he authorised the launch of air attacks on Iran’s three main nuclear facilities.
Mr Trump announced that the “very successful attack” targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, facilities that Israel had targeted in its bombings but was unable to destroy due to their underground locations in dense mountains.
In a post on his social media site, Truth Social, Mr Trump said the US had completed its strikes and called for peace.
“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan,” he wrote. “NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!”
Despite the US attacks, however, many analysts believe most of Iran’s enriched uranium were still intact as Iran had moved them alongside many other resources to undisclosed locations when the war with Israel started.
The IAEA, however, confirmed that the US strikes caused significant damage to the Iranian nuclear facilities.
That attack brought the US into the war and led to the Iranian retaliation on Monday.
However, the ceasefire announcement by Mr Trump suggests the US does not want to aggravate the situation and wants an end to the war.
PREMIUM TIMES will present updates in subsequent reports.
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