Israel and Iran have arrived at ceasefire, says Donald Trump

United States President Donald Trump on Monday said that Iran and Israel had agreed to a “complete and total” ceasefire after 12 days of hostilities.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi initially said that there had been no agreement on a ceasefire. However, he added minutes later that the Iranian military operation “continued until the very last minute”, till 4 am local time.

Iranian state-run Press TV channel said at 7.49 am local time that the ceasefire had taken effect.

Israel is yet to respond to the developments but there were no reports of Israeli strikes in Iran after 4 am local time, the Associated Press reported.

However, the Israeli military said it has identified missiles launched toward Israel from Iran, and that its defensive systems were activated, CNN reported.

“A short while ago, sirens sounded in several areas across Israel following the identification of missiles launched from Iran toward the State of Israel,” the Israel Defense Forces said. “At this time, the IAF [Israeli Air Force] is operating to intercept and strike where necessary to eliminate the threat.”

Four persons were killed in the southern city of Beersheba in Israel in the Iranian strikes, The Times of Israel reported.

Announcing the ceasefire on social media, Trump claimed that Israel and Iran had “fully agreed” to it.

“Congratulations to everyone!” Trump said. “It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total ceasefire (in approximately 6 hours from now, when Israel and Iran have wound down and completed their in progress, final missions!), for 12 hours, at which point the War will be considered, ended!”

He added that Iran will start the ceasefire officially 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”.

The US president added that both sides will remain “peaceful and respectful” during the ceasefire.

“On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both countries, Israel and Iran, on having the stamina, courage and intelligence to end, what should be called, ‘the 12 day war’,” he said.

Trump added that this was a “war that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will!”

Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire came hours after Iran struck the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which houses US troops, Al Jazeera reported. The US president said no Americans or Qataris were killed or wounded in the attack.

Shortly before announcing the agreement, the US president thanked the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for “all that he has done in seeking peace for the region”.

Ahead of the strike on the Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar had closed its airspace.

Qatar Airways said on Tuesday that its operations to and from Doha had resumed. “As operations resume, we anticipate significant delays to our flight schedule,” it said in a statement.

The US had joined Israel’s war against Iran in the early hours of Sunday. Trump had said that the country carried out a “very successful attack” on the nuclear sites of Fordo, Natanz and Esfahan in Iran.

On June 13, the Israeli military struck what it claimed were nuclear targets, and also other sites, in Iran with the aim of stalling Tehran’s nuclear programme. Iran retaliated with missile attacks on Israel.

Washington is an ally of Israel and acts as a guarantor of the country’s security.

Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi had on Sunday described the US strikes a “grave violation” of the United Nations Charter, international law and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

While Israel has claimed that Iran was “closer than ever” to obtaining a nuclear weapon, Iran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.

Indian airline operations hit

The developments in West Asia affected airline operations by Indian carriers, with IndiGo and Air India issuing travel advisories.

In the early hours of Tuesday, IndiGo said that its flight operations to and from Dubai, Doha, Bahrain, Dammam, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Madinah, Fujairah, Jeddah, Muscat, Sharjah, Riyadh, Ras AI-Khaimah and Tbilisi had been suspended till at least 10 am.

However, in an update posted on X in the morning, IndiGo said that with airports with West Asia gradually opening, it was “prudently and progressively resuming operations” on these routes.

“We continue to monitor the situation closely and are fully considering the safest available flight paths to ensure secure and seamless travel,” it said, advising customers to check for updates on its mobile app and website.

Air India also suspended operations in West Asia, the eastern coast of North America and Europe till further notice.

“Our India-bound flights from North America are diverting back to their respective origins and others are being diverted back to India or re-routed away from the closed airspaces,” it said.

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