Israel early Tuesday accused Iran of violating terms of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire, shortly after it was slated to take effect, and vowed to retaliate.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, in a post on social platform X, said the nation will “respond forcefully to the violation of the ceasefire by Iran through intense strikes against regime targets in the heart of Tehran.”
“The Iranian regime has severely violated the ceasefire declared by the President of the United States and launched missiles toward Israel, and in accordance with the government’s policy as determined — we will respond forcefully to any violation,” he added.
Iran’s military denied launching missiles toward Israel, The Associated Press reported, citing the Islamic republic’s state-run news agency. But sirens blared across Israel on Monday, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and an Israeli military official told the AP that two Iranian missiles were intercepted.
Trump, after the U.S. helped to put the fragile ceasefire in place, accused both Middle Eastern countries of violating the agreement, telling reporters on Tuesday morning that Iran “violated it but Israel violated it too.”
“I’m not happy with Israel,” he added.
Trump, on his Truth Social platform, warned Israel against retaliation.
“ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS. IF YOU DO IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION. BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW! DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,” he wrote shortly before 7 a.m. EDT, after speaking to reporters before his trip to the Netherlands for the NATO summit.
Less than an hour later, the president said Israel had agreed not to attack and declared the ceasefire still in effect.
“ISRAEL is not going to attack Iran. All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly ‘Plane Wave’ to Iran. Nobody will be hurt, the Ceasefire is in effect!” Trump wrote in his subsequent post.
The ceasefire agreement was announced Monday after 12 days of fighting between Iran and Israel, which culminated with America’s decision to bomb three Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend — and with Iran’s limited retaliatory strike on a U.S. air base in Qatar on Monday.
The president had pushed Iran to take steps toward peace, following the U.S. strikes, warning that America could strike again if Iran takes any significant steps to retaliate.