WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that both Israel and Iran violated a ceasefire he announced hours earlier and he was not happy with either country but especially Israel.
Speaking to reporters before leaving for the NATO summit in The Hague, Trump said Israel “unloaded” right after agreeing to the deal. He also said Iran’s nuclear capabilities are gone.
Trump warned Israel on Tuesday not to drop any more bombs on Iran or it would be a violation of the ceasefire he is trying to broker between the two countries.
Earlier, the Israeli military said it detected launches from Iran to which Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel would respond “forcefully”.
Its military defence systems are operating to intercept the threat, it said, instructing the public to enter a protected space and remain there until further notice.
In response, Iranian media reported, quoting state TV, news about a missile attack by Iran on Israel after the ceasefire between the two countries took effect is “denied”.
The announcement came less than three hours after Trump said a ceasefire between Israel and Iran was “now in effect”.
Israel earlier said it had agreed to “bilateral ceasefire” with Iran proposed by US President Donald Trump, following 12 days of war.
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“Last night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened the cabinet… to announce that Israel had achieved all the objectives of Operation ‘Rising Lion’ and much more,” the government said in a statement, adding that it had removed “an immediate dual existential threat: nuclear and ballistic”.
“Israel thanks President Trump and the United States for their support in defence and for their participation in removing the Iranian nuclear threat,” the statement said, adding that “Israel will respond forcefully to any violation of the ceasefire.”
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the ceasefire between Iran and Israel is “NOW IN EFFECT.”
“THE CEASEFIRE IS NOW IN EFFECT. PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The US leader had earlier said the truce would be a phased 24-hour process beginning at around 0400 GMT Tuesday, with Iran unilaterally halting all operations first. He said Israel would follow suit 12 hours later.
