President Donald Trump said Monday night that there would be a ceasefire between Israel and Iran in the coming hours.
“Officially, Iran will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 12th Hour, Israel will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 24th Hour, an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR will be saluted by the World,” Trump wrote. “During each CEASEFIRE, the other side will remain PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL.”
According to the social media post, the two countries will be given time to “wind down” and complete ongoing missions. The president, who said last week he didn’t want a ceasefire without Iran giving up on its nuclear program, hailed the purported agreement as an effective end to the conflict.
“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 continued.
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The ceasefire comes hours after Iran attempted to strike a U.S. base in Qatar in retaliation for U.S. strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities on Saturday. According to Trump and Qatari officials, no Americans or Qataris were hurt in the strike. The president then signaled that there was a path for the conflict to come to a conclusion, and that Iran’s leaders had “gotten it all out of their system.”
If the ceasefire holds, it will mark the end of a chaotic 12 days, where there was widespread concern that U.S. involvement in the conflict could tip the region into further instability, and potentially result in a prolonged war.
In the midst of the president’s announcement, strikes have reportedly continued between the two countries.
Vice President JD Vance was in an interview with Fox News when Trump announced the deal on Truth Social; he said Trump has been “working the phones” to bring the conflict to a conclusion.
“The president has been extremely clear about America’s national objective here. It is to create a world where Iran cannot build a nuclear weapon,” he said. “We, of course, destroyed the nuclear program that they had. And, the president told the entire team we’re going to work to make sure that they don’t try to rebuild that nuclear capability in the future.”
Vance indicated that the president doesn’t talk directly with Iran, and that conversations often happen through an intermediary. Neither country has commented on the ceasefire announced by Trump.
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Violet Jira is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.
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