US President Donald Trump declared a truce to end the 12-day confrontation between Israel and Iran, but it was unclear when or if it would actually go into effect as morning broke over the two countries.
Shortly after Iran launched a missile attack on a US military installation in Qatar, Trump made his announcement late Monday Eastern Time. Six hours after making his announcement, or around seven in the morning Israeli time, the US president said that a “Complete and Total” ceasefire would start. Israeli authorities have not yet made their involvement or agreement public, though.
Hostilities persisted until Tuesday morning in spite of the statement. Israeli emergency services reported that at least three persons were killed when one of Iran’s missiles struck a residential building in Beer Sheva.
Israeli air defenses stopped incoming threats as several missile launches were observed over Jerusalem and Haifa.
Israeli military apparently launched nocturnal attacks on Tehran at the same time, with Iranian state television verifying that anti-aircraft fire and explosions lit up the skies over the capital. The air defense systems were in operation when the international media reported that from Tehran.
According to Iranian state television, a truce was “imposed on the enemy” after a strong military reaction to “US aggression.”
However, the program rejected US involvement and did not specify when the truce would begin, claiming that Trump had made his peace appeal “in a begging-like manner.” In contrast, Trump said that “Israel & Iran came to me” in order to pursue peace.
Iran had earlier targeted the US-run Al Udeid airbase in Qatar, a vital military installation. Diplomatic sources say the missiles were intercepted and no one was hurt since the base had been evacuated days before.
Iran has given Qatar advance notice of the attack, according to sources who spoke to CNN, suggesting a potential de-escalation route.
Although Qatar mediated the ceasefire negotiations, no specifics of the deal have been made public as of yet.
Both sides continued to launch missile attacks in spite of the diplomatic flurry, leaving the region and the rest of the globe to wait and see if the pledged ceasefire will hold or break down under sustained military pressure.
