New Delhi: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire. Immediately prior to his statement, President Donald Trump announced that he had reached such an agreement as well, bringing an end to the 12-day war which killed hundreds and threatened to upend the entire Middle East.
Israel, which had started fighting on June 13, in turn, carried out a series of air and ground strikes against Iranian military and nuclear installations, killing several of its generals and scientists. Iran responded by unleashing a barrage of ballistic missile attacks on Israel, resulting in the deaths of numerous civilians and soldiers. The hostilities represented one of their most serious battles in recent memory.
“We have accomplished our mission, and we will go on protecting Israel’s security,” Netanyahu said in a nationally televised address. “We are prepared to halt the operation,” he added, cautioning that any infringement of the accord by Iran would draw “a determined response.”.
On Truth Social, Trump’s latest message was dramatic. He stated as a fact that he had been approached by “almost simultaneously” both nations to bring about peace, and he termed the agreement the “End of the 12-Day War.”. Two breaks of 12 hours each, mediated by Qatar, were what the agreement called for: first, Iran at midnight ET and then Israel. By midnight Wednesday, hostilities between the two countries were officially due to end.
But the truce is precarious. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi initially contended that his plan had ceased attacks but tiptoed around actually confirming the deal, while Iranian state wire services said it had been “imposed” on Israel. In the hours just before the truce was due to take effect, Iran fired missiles at Israel, taking four lives in Beersheba at least, and Israel attacked northern Iran, killing nine.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he welcomed the truce and implored both sides to observe it. Yet even if the present war ends, some analysts suggested that unless the Israeli military abandons the West Bank and the international community intervenes with Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, the Middle East will remain precarious and not truly at peace. Keep in mind that there are side effects of the war—for instance, the nervousness of both Arab nations and Israel regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions.