Trump says Iran-Israel ceasefire in effect after accusing both sides of violating it
President Trump said Tuesday that a ceasefire between Israel and Iran was "in effect," and it appeared to be holding on Tuesday afternoon after 12 days of deadly conflict between the Middle East's arch rivals.
Earlier in the morning, Mr. Trump voiced frustration with both countries and accused them of violating the agreement he had announced just hours earlier. Israel accused Iran of breaching the agreement minutes after it was intended to take effect, and said it would "respond forcefully."
But after a last-minute intervention by Mr. Trump — including a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — the bombardments appeared to cease.
How the ceasefire deal announced by Trump took shape
Mr. Trump said Monday night that Israel and Iran had agreed to a "Complete and Total CEASEFIRE," a move he said would end the 12-day conflict between the two countries.
The ceasefire would take hold in stages, the president said. A White House official told CBS News that Iran would halt strikes against Israel from midnight Eastern Time, and Israel was to stop striking Iran 12 hours after that, from noon ET on Tuesday. Another 12 hours after that, or at midnight ET on Wednesday morning, the war would be considered over.
Tuesday morning, Israel accused Iran of launching several missiles at Israeli territory. At least one made impact in the southern city of Beersheba, killing four people. It was unclear at the time whether the missiles were fired before or after the ceasefire was due to take effect, but Israel's defense chief accused Iran of breaching the agreement, and ordered a response. Israel later said it had launched a final round of strikes on Iran, before the ceasefire began.
"In light of Iran's complete violation of the ceasefire declared by the U.S. President and the launch of missiles towards Israel, and in accordance with the Israeli government's policy as determined to respond forcefully to any violation — I have instructed the IDF, in coordination with the Prime Minister, to continue the intense activity of attacking Tehran to thwart regime targets and terrorist infrastructures," Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.
President Trump was quick to respond to defend his deal, saying in a posted on his Truth Social network: "ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS. IF YOU DO IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION. BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW!"
As he prepared to depart for a NATO summit on Tuesday, he was asked if he believed Iran or Israel had violated the ceasefire.
"I think they both violated it. I don't think, I'm not sure they did it intentionally. They couldn't rein people back," Mr. Trump said. But he appeared to direct particular criticism at Israel.
"I don't like the fact that Israel went out this morning at all," Mr. Trump said, referring to a number of strikes on Iran that Israel said it carried out just before the ceasefire was due to begin.
"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," Mr. Trump said, adding that he would "see if I can stop it."
"I'm not happy with them," Mr. Trump told reporters. "I'm not happy with Iran either. We basically have two countries that have been fighting for so long and so hard that they don't know what the f*** they're doing, you understand that?"
Soon after, Israel said Mr. Trump had spoken by phone with Netanyahu.
A White House source told CBS News that Mr. Trump was "exceptionally firm and direct" in the call about what needed to happen to sustain the ceasefire, and the source said Netanyahu had "understood the severity of the situation and the concerns President Trump expressed."
In a statement after their call, Netanyahu's office said Israel had "refrained from further attacks" after carrying out a limited strike on a radar site outside Tehran, in retaliation for Iran's latest missile launches.
Israel's timeline of airstrikes and missile exchange with Iran
In a statement, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered a timeline of the events on Tuesday morning, saying the ceasefire had been due to take effect at 7 a.m. local time [midnight eastern], and Israel had launched attacks on "the heart of Tehran" at 3 a.m. local, "hitting regime targets and killing hundreds of Basij and Iranian security forces."
"Shortly before the ceasefire went into effect, Iran launched a barrage of missiles, one of which claimed the lives of four of our citizens in Beersheba," the statement said, adding that after 7 a.m., when the ceasefire began, Iran fired additional missiles.
"At 7:06 AM, Iran launched one missile into Israeli territory and at 10:25 AM, two more missiles. The missiles were intercepted or fell in open areas without casualties or damage," Netanyahu's office said. "In response to Iran's violations, the Air Force destroyed a radar array near Tehran. Following President Trump's conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel refrained from further attacks."
At least 1,000 people killed in 12 days of Israel-Iran strikes
The conflict between Israel and Iran began June 13, when Israel launched its first strikes against Iranian nuclear and military targets. The strikes — which killed several top Iranian military officials — prompted Iranian counterattacks on Israel.
As of Tuesday, at least 974 people have been killed, including at least 387 civilians and 268 Iranian military personnel, in Israel's strikes on Iran, the Washington-based group Human Rights Activists in Iran . The group relies on a network of contacts inside Iran for its information.
Iranian authorities have not provided casualty figures since not long after the Israeli strikes began.
Iran's missile attacks have killed at least 28 people in Israel since June 13, according to Israeli officials.
The U.S. took military action against Iran over the weekend, striking three sites that are believed to be key to Iran's nuclear program. The move sparked fears of a wider war, but Iran's response on Monday was fairly limited. Iran fired more than a dozen missiles at a U.S. base in Qatar, most of which were intercepted, and no injuries were reported, U.S. and Qatari officials said.
Iran called its response "devastating and powerful," but Mr. Trump called it "very weak." The president said in another social media post that he wanted "to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost."
Drones hit bases in Iraq housing U.S. troops
Iraqi army spokesperson Sabah Al-Naaman, in a statement quoted by the AP, said Tuesday that drones had hit military bases in the country, including some where American forces are stationed.
Al-Naaman said a "treacherous and cowardly act of aggression" had damaged radar installations at Camp Taji, north of Baghdad, and at the Imam Ali Base in Dhi Qar province in southern Iraq, not far from the Iranian border.
The AP cited Al-Naaman as saying Iraqi forces intercepted drones fired at other locations.
The AP cited a senior U.S. military official, whom it said was not authorized to comment publicly, as saying American forces had intercepted drones targeting the Ain al-Assad base in the western Iraq desert, and a base near Baghdad airport.
There were no reports of casualties, and no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks.
