US President Donald Trump says that Israel and Iran have agreed to a 12-hour ceasefire, claiming that this will be the point at which the conflict between the two countries will be considered ended.
In a post on truth social, Mr Trump said the ceasefire would be “complete and total”.
His comments came after Iran made good on its threat of retaliation against the United States, launching a missile attack on a US military base in Qatar on Monday (Jun 23).
Qatar said its defences had intercepted the incoming missiles which were targeted at the Al Udeid air base, the largest American military facility in the Middle East.
16 minutes ago
No ceasefire deal “as of now”: Iranian foreign minister
In a remark on X posted in the last 15 minutes, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has denied the existence of any ceasefire “agreement” or halt in military operations.
But he also said: “Provided that the Israeli regime stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4 am Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards. The final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later.”
21 minutes ago
Qatar, Saudi Arabia condemn attacks on US base near Doha
Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said his country “reserves the right to respond directly in a manner proportional to the nature and scale of this blatant aggression”.
He was speaking after Iran launched missiles against a US military base in Qatar.
Saudi Arabia, historically a rival of Iran, also condemned Tehran’s attack and said it would offer “all its capabilities to support the sisterly state of Qatar in any measures it takes”.
Qatar has since reopened its airspace after closing it earlier ahead of Iran’s missile strike on a US air base near Doha.
31 minutes ago
Explosions reported in Tehran
Israel’s military issued a new evacuation warning for residents living in two areas of the Iranian capital Tehran.
The warning came after Donald Trump said that a ceasefire has been agreed between Israel and Iran – albeit coming into force in the coming hours rather than immediately.
After the warning was issued, a series of powerful explosions rocked Tehran, according to AFP journalists.
Warplanes buzzed overhead as explosions shook the north and centre of Iran’s capital around 2330 GMT.
32 minutes ago
US stocks end higher, oil prices fall to over one-week lows
Wall Street rallied on Monday (Jun 23), with all three major US stock indexes – the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite – closing sharply higher.
“I think there was a lot of concern that Iran would do much more than it did,” said Paul Nolte, senior wealth advisor & market strategist at Murphy & Sylvest in Elmhurst, Illinois.
Oil prices tumbled to their lowest level in more than a week as US President Donald Trump said a ceasefire has been agreed between Iran and Israel, relieving worries of supply disruption in the area.
Tehran had warned it would close the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil shipping route.
“With the ceasefire news, we are now seeing a continuation of the risk premium built into crude oil price last week all but evaporate,” said Tony Sycamore, analyst at IG.
53 minutes ago
Negotiating the ceasefire
US President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran in a call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and with Trump’s team in contact with Iranian officials, a senior White House official said.
The official, providing details of the ceasefire on condition of anonymity, said Israel agreed to the ceasefire so long as Iran does not launch fresh attacks.
Iran signalled it would abide by the agreement, the official said.
In direct and indirect contact with the Iranians were Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US special envoy Steve Witkoff, the official said.
Today
08:21
Attack on US military base
Iran made good on its promise to retaliate for the attacks by the United States on Iranian underground nuclear facilities by launching missiles towards an American air base in Qatar.
Iran gave advance notice to the US via diplomatic channels hours ahead of the attack, as well as to Qatari authorities. US President Donald Trump said Iran fired 14 missiles at the air base, calling it “a very weak response, which we expected, and have very effectively countered”.
“I am pleased to report that NO Americans were harmed and hardly any damage was done,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social media site.
The attack resulted in disruption to flights, with airlines rerouting planes after several Middle Eastern countries temporarily closed their airspace.
Today 08:20
Iran says it won’t submit to aggression
Following the missile attack against the US military base in Qatar, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said: “We did not assault anyone, and we will never accept being assaulted by anyone.
“We will not submit to anyone’s aggression – this is the logic of the Iranian nation.”
Iran had repeatedly threatened to hit back in the wake of the US joining Israel’s military campaign by dropping bunker-buster bombs on three Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday morning.
Today 08:20
Trump says Israel-Iran agree to “complete and total” ceasefire
US President Donald Trump said that a “complete and total” ceasefire has been agreed between Israel and Iran and will last for 12 hours.
While an unnamed Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran had agreed to a ceasefire, there was no immediate comment yet from Israel nor an official confirmation from Iran.
Trump appeared to suggest that Israel and Iran would have some time to complete any military missions that are underway, at which point the ceasefire would begin in a staged process.
His announcement comes after Iran’s missile attack on an US military base in Qatar, sparking fears of a wider conflict that began on Jun 13.
Source: CNA/sn