CNN
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In the last 48 hours, the Middle East has witnessed unprecedented US airstrikes in Iran, the most powerful nuclear-free weapon, and Iran’s retaliatory strikes at the region’s largest US mass base.
The region and the wider world looked carefully at the events unfolded overnight on Tuesday, but there was some hope when sunlight broke in the region that what President Donald Trump called the “12-Day War” might end.
“The ceasefire is in effect now. Don’t violate!” Trump wrote in his social account of truth.
At about the same time, Israeli emergency workers were on the scene of what appears to be Iran’s final attack on the 12-day conflict.
It could be the final hostile act of two days of hostile development leading up to the surprise announcement of Trump’s ceasefire.
This is the situation on Tuesday in the Middle East.
On Monday evening in Washington, the US president announced a ceasefire.
“It has been fully agreed that there will be a complete and complete ceasefire between Israel and Iran,” Trump said in a social media post.
“I want to congratulate both Israel and Iran on ending stamina, courage and intelligence.
Trump said the ceasefire was gradually progressive, with Iran first ending its attack on Israel, and then Israel stopped its attack on Iran 12 hours later. However, the exact timing of these events was unknown.
Israel has agreed to a ceasefire contract on the condition that Iran has halted its attacks in its own country and Iran has agreed to those terms, a senior White House official told CNN.
Trump claims Israel and Iran have agreed to a ceasefire
During negotiations, Trump communicated directly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Marco Rubio and Vice President Steve Witkov of the Special Mission negotiated terms with Iranians through direct and indirect channels, sources said.
Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman bin Jasim al Thani secured an Iranian agreement on Monday.
In a later social media post, Trump said that both Israel and Iran came to him to complete the ceasefire.
However, Iranian state media reported that Trump had sought a ceasefire contract “in a way that would make him gging” after the attack on a US air base in Qatar.
It remains to be seen whether the ceasefire will be held.
Israeli officials said Iran was supposed to have stopped the attack under Trump’s timeline, when the missile struck Israel and killed at least five civilians.
Hours before Trump’s ceasefire announcement, Iran launched around 12 short- and medium-range ballistic missiles at Al-Udeid Air Force Base in Qatar, the largest US military facility in the Middle East.
Video shows Qatari missile after Iran fires at a US base
However, Tehran tilted both the US and Qatar when the strike came, and air defenses, including the Patriot missile battery, were able to intercept all but one of the incoming Iranian missiles. No deaths or injuries have been reported in Qatar.
In a social media post, Trump thanked Iran for warning him of missile attacks.
“The most important thing is that they all got it from the ‘system.’ And there’s no more hatred. I would like to thank you for notifying us early.
“Tehran’s choice to limit retaliation and exit the crisis makes sense given us the strength and the weakness of Iran,” said Rosemary Keranick, director of the Defense Priority Middle East Program.
Israel’s claim that Iran could soon build nuclear weapons was the driving force behind the strike at Iranian nuclear facilities and the conflict that began on the night of June 12-13 against Iran’s military and nuclear program scientists.
Trump followed Israeli airstrikes by ordering an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, including a fleet of Iran’s B-2 bombers.
Assessment of damage at Iran’s nuclear sites
Trump administration officials said Iran’s nuclear weapons program is several days away from its ability to make nuclear bombs, but said it has been backed by a US strike for years.
Experts were more skeptical. Iran’s rich uranium shops could have escaped destruction on a US strike, and Tehran could be able to build weapons in just a few months.
The Middle East has been a crater box since October 2023 when Hamas extremists in Gaza took effect on Israel, killing hundreds and taking dozens of hostages.
Israel responded with an invasion of Palestinian enclaves that have taken root in tunnels and other fortresses that have killed more than 55,000 people, and more than 55,000 people, according to the World Health Organization.
While Israel’s attention was focused on the fight against Iran, dozens of people were killed by Israeli forces in Gaza and taken away by the territory, including the past 21, Palestinians say.
A group advocating for the return of Israeli hostages in Gaza is calling for the expansion of the ceasefire between Israel and Iran to include war-torn enclaves.
“Those who can achieve a ceasefire with Iran can also end the war in Gaza,” the Hostage and Missing Family Forum said in a statement Tuesday.
The forum said the ceasefire must be “expanded to include Gaza” and called the government “to bring all hostages home and engage in emergency negotiations to end the war.”
“After 12 days and nights when the people of Israel couldn’t sleep because of Iran, we can go back to not sleep because of hostages,” the forum said.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid reflects those feelings and writes in X’s post.