WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran on Monday, following a nearly two-week conflict. The announcement, made via a Truth Social post, stated the ceasefire would take effect just after midnight EDT, with a full cessation of hostilities slated for 12 hours later.
However, neither Israel nor Iran immediately confirmed their agreement to the ceasefire terms.
Trump, in his post, declared, “This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will!”
The direct exchanges of fire between the two longtime adversaries escalated earlier this month after Israel attacked Iranian nuclear facilities. This direct conflict followed years of indirect hostilities, which intensified after the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel by Hamas, a group backed by Tehran.
Just hours before Trump’s announcement, Israel had launched further airstrikes targeting northern Iran and areas around Tehran. Concurrently, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei posted on X, “those who know the Iranian people and their history know that the Iranian nation isn’t a nation that surrenders.”
Requests for comment from the Iranian Mission to the United Nations and the Israeli Embassy in Washington went unanswered. The specific terms of the ceasefire were not detailed in Trump’s social media post, and it remains unclear how quickly both sides will comply.
A senior White House official, speaking anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the negotiations, stated that both Israel and Iran have agreed to the ceasefire, provided no further attacks occur. The official revealed that Trump directly communicated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff engaged with Iranian representatives through various channels. Qatar was highlighted as a key mediator in brokering the deal.
The official also indicated that a U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear sites, including Fordo and Natanz, on Saturday “made the deal possible and agreeable, especially by the Israelis.” The U.S. had initially sought to remain outside the conflict but intervened directly on Saturday. In response, Iran had given the U.S. advance notice of its retaliatory strike on a major U.S. airbase in Qatar, which occurred on Monday.
Trump’s announcement marks another significant shift in his stance on Iran. After months of suggesting a potential deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program, he fully supported Israel’s June 13 attack that ignited the recent conflict. Less than two weeks later, he authorized direct U.S. involvement in the bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities. Following Iran’s “highly choreographed and relatively limited response” on Monday, Trump pivoted back to favoring diplomacy, characterizing Iran’s attack as a way for the country to “get it all out of their ‘system.'”
Vice President JD Vance echoed this sentiment, framing the ceasefire as a victory for both nations. In a Monday evening interview on Fox News, Vance adopted Trump’s “12 Day War” moniker for the conflict, calling it an “important reset moment for the entire region.”
