President Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday. Evan Vucci/AP hide caption
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Evan Vucci/AP
President Trump says a ceasefire between Israel and Iran has taken effect, after lashing out earlier Tuesday over alleged violations of the truce he helped broker, and excoriating Israel for its plan to resume strikes on Iran.
“ISRAEL is not going to attack Iran. All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly ‘Plane Wave’ to Iran,” the president wrote on social media. “Nobody will be hurt, the Ceasefire is in effect!”
The comments came hours after Israel and Iran announced they agreed to stop 12 days of fighting. But the Israeli government accused Iran of firing missiles in violation of the ceasefire, which Iran denied, and Israel’s defense minister said the military would “respond forcefully.”
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Trump got angry in televised comments — especially at Israel. “Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and they dropped a load of bombs, the likes of which I’ve never seen before, the biggest load that we’ve seen. I’m not happy with Israel,” Trump told reporters outside the White House.
Trump also posted a warning on social media against Israel resuming its offensive: “ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS. IF YOU DO IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION. BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW!”
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later said its air force struck a radar installation near Tehran, but held off on further strikes. “Pursuant to the conversation between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel has refrained from additional attacks,” the Prime Minister’s Office statement said.
Israeli emergency services and security officers search for casualties in the rubble of a building hit by an Iranian missile in Beersheba in southern Israel on Tuesday. John Wessels/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
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John Wessels/AFP via Getty Images
The ceasefire, if it holds, comes more than a week and a half after Israel launched strikes on Iran, leading to a deadly air war that threatened to draw the Middle East — and the United States — into a wider conflict.
Netanyahu said Israel was attacking Iran to remove “existential threats” to Israel: Iran’s ballistic missiles and nuclear facilities.
Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful, civilian purposes. Nuclear experts say it has enriched enough uranium for several weapons.
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The U.S. military helped intercept some of the barrages headed toward Israel. Then over the weekend, the U.S. joined the Israeli offensive directly — bombing three Iranian nuclear facilities.
On Monday, Iran responded, firing missiles at a U.S. base in Qatar. The U.S. Central Command said the U.S. and Qatari forces successfully intercepted the Iranian missiles targeting the air base. Trump said on social media that U.S. officials had received advance notice by Iran of the strikes.
The U.S. attack was powerful but targeted. Iran’s response was meant to “save face” without further escalation, according to Bader Al-Saif, an analyst in Kuwait.
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Iran retaliates against U.S. strikes
Iran retaliates against U.S. strikes
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Diplomatic efforts kicked into gear. A person familiar with the matter told NPR that on Monday night, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Israeli Cabinet minister Ron Dermer had a conversation, then President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke, and Netanyahu agreed in principle to a ceasefire. Then Qatar mediated a deal with Iran.
Later Monday, Trump said Israel and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire that could lead to an end to the war between the two countries.
Israel and Iran exchanged strikes up to the last moment when the truce was due to begin, causing casualties on both sides, according to Iranian state media and Israeli officials.
Iran’s state TV said Tehran “imposed” a ceasefire on the “Zionist enemy.” Iran’s government does not officially recognize Israel as a state.
Then Netanyahu’s office said the military campaign against Iran had achieved its objectives, and “in full coordination with President Trump, Israel has agreed to the president’s proposal for a bilateral ceasefire.”
Trump wrote on social media in all caps: “THE CEASEFIRE IS NOW IN EFFECT. PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT!”
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The final death toll from the war was not immediately clear. Iran’s Health Ministry said 606 people had been killed by Israel’s strikes in Iran. An independent activist group called the Human Rights Activists News Agency counted 974 total fatalities.
The Israeli government said 28 people had been killed by Iran’s strikes in Israel.
This is a developing story, which may be updated.
NPR’s Tamara Keith contributed reporting from Washington, D.C.; Hadeel Al-Shalchi and Daniel Estrin contributed from Tel Aviv, Israel; Aya Batrawy from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
