‘Official end to 12 day war’: Donald Trump declares ceasefire between Israel, Iran. Tehran hints at truce

US President Donald Trump on Monday announced that Israel and Iran have reached a ‘complete and total ceasefire’, putting an end to what he claimed was the “12 DAY WAR”. In a post on Truth Social, the US President said that the ceasefire will begin in around 6 hours after the two countries complete their “final missions”. 

The development came on Monday after Iran’s missile strike on Al Udeid Air Base, which houses the US Combined Air Operations Center and the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing. 

“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. During each CEASEFIRE, the other side will remain PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL,” Trump said in his post. 

He further congratulated Israel and Iran for their “stamina, courage and intelligence to end” the 12-day war.

“This is a war that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will! God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!”

Trump also told NBC News in an interview that he expects an Iran-Israel ceasefire that he announced to last “forever”. Meanwhile, Iranian foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi thanked the country’s armed forces for fighting against Israel “till the very last minute” till 4 am on Tuesday. 

He previously rejected Trump’s claims of a complete ceasefire between Israel and Iran, stating no such agreement had been reached between the two countries. 

Despite Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire, the Israel Defence Forces said that the restriction guidelines announced for the public issued due to the Middle East conflict will continue to remain in effect. As per these guidelines, public gatherings are prohibited whereas schools and workplace will remain closed in Israel. 

Iran has agreed to a Qatar-mediated ceasefire proposal by the US to halt hostilities with Israel, as per news agency Reuters.

One of the senior officials involved in the ceasefire negotiations told news agency Reuters that Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani secured Iran’s agreement to the US-proposed ceasefire.

The development came after Trump and US Vice President JD Vance reached out to Qatar’s Emir and urged him to help de-escalate the rising tensions in the Middle East region after Iran’s missile strikes on a US air base in Qatar on Monday. 

“Trump told the Emir that Israel had agreed to the ceasefire and asked for Qatari help to persuade Iran to also agree,” the official said. After this, Qatar’s Prime Minister spoke with Iranian officials and was successful in brokering a commitment from Iran to the ceasefire terms. 

Moreover, Trump thanked the Emir of Qatar in a post and said: “CONGRATULATIONS WORLD, IT’S TIME FOR PEACE!”. In another post, he wrote: “I’d like to thank the Highly Respected Emir of Qatar for all that he has done in seeking peace for the Region.”