President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that Israel and Iran have agreed to a ceasefire Monday, June 23, just hours after Iran attacked a U.S. military base in Qatar. However, some foreign leaders haven’t publicly responded to the reported ceasefire, others directly refuted it and there were also follow-up attacks by both Israel and Iran leading up to the beginning of the ceasefire.
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Trump’s announcement
In his post, the president stated that the ceasefire will begin at approximately 12:00 a.m. EST. He added this will be the end of what he called the “12 day war,” saying it could have gone on for years and “destroyed the Middle East.”
Announcement reaction
Reaction is still coming from the Middle East.
One of the first to respond was Mahdi Mohammadi, an advisor to Iran’s parliament speaker. According to the Tehran Times, Mohammadi wrote on X, “The U.S. and Israel are lying. They want Iran to put down its guard so they can escalate the tensions.”
Likewise, Mehr, a state-run news agency sponsored by the Iranian government, covered Trump’s announcement with the headline “Liar Trump speaks of ceasefire between Iran, Israeli regime.”
And late Monday evening, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a statement on X that no agreement had been reached on a ceasefire or “cessation of military operations.”
“However, 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,” said Araghchi. “The final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later.”
And prior to President Trump’s ceasefire announcement, a statement from Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s X account read, “Those who know the Iranian people and their history know that the Iranian nation isn’t a nation that surrenders.”
However, Reuters reports that a senior Iranian official confirmed that Tehran agreed to the proposal.
Back stateside, Vice President JD Vance applauded the announcement while speaking on Fox News. “Tomorrow really is a new day. The end of the 12-day war, the end of the Iranian nuclear program, and I really do believe, the beginning of something very big for peace in the Middle East,” Vance said.
Attacks reported following reported ceasefire announcement
Despite the countries reportedly agreeing to a ceasefire, multiple news outlets reported additional attacks in the hours leading up to the beginning of the agreement. CNN cited Iran’s state-aligned Tasnim news agency that reported Israeli strikes in Tehran. Al Jazeera reported Iranian strikes in Iraq.
Israel, Iran war
The two countries have been exchanging direct attacks for nearly two weeks following an initial Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities on June 13. Iran then followed with missile and drone attacks.
The indirect fighting dates back to Oct. 7, 2023, when the Iranian-backed militant group Hamas killed more than 1,200 Israelis at a music festival. Hamas also took dozens of hostages.
