Israel and Iran Agree to Ceasefire to End 12-Day Conflict, President Trump Announces

Israel and Iran have agreed to a ceasefire set to begin at midnight, President Donald Trump announced on social media on Monday evening, signaling a potential end to nearly two weeks of escalating air assaults between the two countries.

The agreement, as described by President Trump, involves two 12-hour ceasefire periods. Iran is to commence the ceasefire at approximately 12 a.m. EDT, followed by Israel initiating its 12-hour ceasefire. After 24 hours, the conflict would be officially declared ended, according to President Trump.

For several hours, neither Israeli nor Iranian officials publicly commented on President Trump's announcement. Later, in a social media post, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denied the existence of a ceasefire agreement. However, he stated that if Israel halted strikes by 4 a.m. Tehran time (8:30 p.m. EDT), Iran would have no intention to continue its response afterward. Araghchi mentioned that a final decision on ceasing military operations would be made later and expressed gratitude to the Iranian armed forces for their responses.

President Trump's ceasefire announcement came two days after the United States joined Israel's military actions by launching strikes on three Iranian nuclear targets. The conflict began on June 12 when Israel initiated a series of strikes against Iran, targeting military installations, including nuclear facilities. Israel justified these actions as preemptive, citing intelligence indicating that Iran had significantly advanced toward obtaining a nuclear weapon—claims that Iran has denied.

Earlier on Monday, Iran fired missiles targeting Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest U.S. military base in the region, raising concerns about potential escalation. A U.S. official reported that the missiles were intercepted with assistance from Qatar. President Trump described the response as "very weak" and later adopted a de-escalatory tone on social media. One source characterized Iran's move as a "failed retaliation."