Trump said the ceasefire was “fully agreed” to by both sides and will begin to be phased in six hours from now.
He expressed confidence that the end of the fighting between the two countries, which he dubbed “the 12 day war” would stick. The announcement came just two days after the U.S. entered the conflict, hitting three nuclear sites in Iran over the weekend.
The announcement comes after Iran fired more than a dozen missiles at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, a response to the U.S. strikes. But Iran provided advance notice of the strike, a signal that Tehran was not looking to provoke additional American military action.
“I am pleased to report that NO Americans were harmed, and hardly any damage was done. Most importantly, they’ve gotten it all out of their ‘system,’ and there will, hopefully, be no further HATE,” President Trump posted on Truth Social.
“I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured,” Trump added. “Perhaps Iran can now proceed to Peace and Harmony in the Region, and I will enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same.”
Trump met with members of his national security team in the Situation Room on Monday as the White House monitored the Iranian strikes on the base. The president’s response came just hours before he is expected to leave for the NATO summit, where he will meet with allies in The Hague.
The Department of Defense said the attacks were from short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles. Roughly 10,000 U.S. troops are stationed at the base, which Trump visited last month during a trip to the Middle East.
Iran’s actions Monday came at a precarious moment in the Middle East, and it puts the spotlight back on Trump and his appetite for engaging militarily in the region. It has become a rare subject of division among some of Trump’s supporters, and the president himself has sent mixed signals in recent days.
While Trump touted Saturday’s operation targeting three Iranian nuclear facilities as a success, others in the administration have been more circumspect about whether Iran’s nuclear facilities were fully destroyed.
Since Saturday, Trump also has left the door open to future strikes if Iran retaliates, and he mused Sunday about the idea of regime change in Iran in a social media post.
Some officials who have worked with Trump argued his instinct would be to avoid further escalating the conflict, however.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
