The full cessation of hostilities went into effect at midnight on June 25, marking an expected end to 12 days of conflict.
A cease-fire between Israel and Iran has gone into full effect, marking an expected end to hostilities in a conflict that some feared could have escalated into a wider war.
The cessation of hostilities began at midnight on June 25, ending more than a week of fighting that saw airstrikes, ballistic missile attacks, and U.S. intervention.
President Donald Trump announced on June 23 that he had negotiated a peace between Iran and Israel in the wake of a U.S. strike on three Iranian nuclear facilities—Isfahan, Natanz, and Fordow—designed to cripple Iran’s capacity to produce enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon.
Trump said the cease-fire would be phased in over 24 hours from midnight on June 24, with Iran first halting its attacks and Israel then stopping offensive strikes.
In the hours leading up to the cessation of hostilities, both sides accused the other of violating the agreement, leading Trump to call for both Iran and Israel to “calm down.”
Ahead of the cease-fire, fresh Israeli airstrikes on Iran allegedly prompted retaliation from the Islamist regime, which launched a rocket that failed to land. Tehran denied that it had violated the agreement, state-aligned media in Iran reported.
Trump expressed frustration with both nations after the incidents, saying they had each violated the cease-fire.
“They [Iran] violated it, but Israel violated it too,” Trump told reporters at the White House before departing for a NATO summit at the Hague. “I’m not happy with Israel.”
Israel responded to the alleged violation with an attack on an Iranian radar before pulling back at Trump’s urging.
“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 a June 24 post on Truth Social.
Later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would refrain from further attacks.
Netanyahu also praised Israel’s military operations in the conflict, saying Iran’s nuclear capabilities had been significantly harmed by the strikes.
“For dozens of years, I promised you that Iran would not have nuclear weapons and indeed … we brought to ruin Iran’s nuclear program,” Netanyahu said in a televised address on June 24.
By Joseph Lord
