A fragile ceasefire between Iran and Israel appeared to hold Tuesday after initially faltering, and U.S. President Donald Trump expressed frustration with both sides, saying they had fought “for so long and so hard” that they didn’t know what they are doing.
After the truce was supposed to take effect, Israel accused Iran of launching missiles into its airspace, and the Israeli finance minister vowed that “Tehran will tremble.”The Iranian military denied firing on Israel, state media reported, but explosions boomed and sirens sounded across northern Israel in the morning, and an Israeli military official said two Iranian missiles were intercepted.
Trump told reporters at the White House before departing for a NATO summit that, in his view, both sides had violated the nascent agreement. He had particularly strong words for Israel, a close ally, while suggesting Iran may have fired on the country by mistake.
But later he said the deal was saved.
“ISRAEL is not going to attack Iran. All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly “Plane Wave” to Iran. Nobody will be hurt, the Ceasefire is in effect!” Trump said in his Truth Social post.Indeed, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he held off on tougher strikes against Iran after speaking to Trump.
The conflict, now in its 12th day, began with Israel targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites, saying it could not allow Tehran to develop atomic weapons and that it feared the Islamic Republic was close. Iran has long maintained that its program is peaceful.
If the truce holds, it will provide a global sense of relief after the U.S. intervened by dropping bunker-buster bombs on nuclear sites over the weekend — a move that risked further destabilizing the volatile region.
Trump phoned Netanyahu after the American bombing on Sunday and told him not to expect additional U.S. military attacks and that he should seek a diplomatic solution with Iran, a senior White House official said.