President Trump announced Monday that Israel and Iran have agreed on a “Complete and Total” ceasefire, a move he said would end a more than weeklong conflict between the two countries — though a top Iranian diplomat sounded less definitive about a deal.
Under the ceasefire announced by Mr. Trump, Iran would stop striking Israel in six hours (at midnight ET on Tuesday), and Israel is expected to stop striking Iran 12 hours after that (at noon ET Tuesday). Then, after another 12 hours, or at midnight ET Wednesday, the war will be considered over, a White House official confirmed to CBS News.
“Upon the 24th Hour, an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR will be saluted by the World,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
Hours after Mr. Trump’s post, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi suggested on X that Iran had stopped its strikes on Israel at 4 a.m. Tehran time (8:30 p.m. ET Monday). Iran’s military operations “continued until the very last minute,” he wrote.
But Araghchi also wrote that “there is NO ‘agreement’ on any ceasefire or cessation of military operations,” though he added that Iran doesn’t plan on continuing strikes on Israel if Israel also ceases strikes at the same time. The timeline laid out by Mr. Trump calls for Israel to stop striking about 15 hours after the time specified by Araghchi.
“The final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later,” Araghchi wrote.
CBS News has reached out to the White House for any response to Araghchi’s remarks.
In a Truth Social post later Monday night, following the Iranian foreign minister’s comments, Mr. Trump wrote, in part, that Israel and Iran “came to me, almost simultaneously, and said, ‘PEACE!’ I knew the time was NOW.”
There has been no official word yet from Israel on a ceasefire.
Prior to Araghchi’s comments, a senior White House official told CBS News both sides had agreed to a ceasefire, with Israel agreeing as long as there are no further Iranian strikes.
Mr. Trump communicated directly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while several other administration officials — Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff — communicated with Iran through direct and indirect channels, the White House official said.
Qatar helped broker a deal, another White House official said. Mr. Trump had asked the Qatari Emir to get Iran to agree to a ceasefire. Vance coordinated with the Qatari prime minister on details, and Iran agreed to the ceasefire after speaking to the prime minister. The official said the direct talks with Iran occurred after Iran’s strike on Al Udeid Air Base.
The conflict between Israel and Iran began June 13 with Israel launching airstrikes against Iranian nuclear and military targets. The strikes — which killed several top Iranian military officials — prompted Iranian counterattacks on Israel.
At least 950 people have been killed and 3,450 wounded in Israel’s strikes in Iran, including a mix of military personnel and civilians, the group Human Rights Activists told the Associated Press. Iran’s attacks have killed at least 24 people in Israel, according to Israeli officials.
The U.S. took military action against Iran over the weekend, striking three sites that are believed to be key to Iran’s nuclear program. The move sparked fears of a wider war, but Iran’s response on Monday was fairly limited. Iran fired more than a dozen missiles at a U.S. base in Qatar, most of which were intercepted, and no injuries were reported, U.S. and Qatari officials said.
Iran called its response “devastating and powerful,” but Mr. Trump called it “very weak.” The president said in another social media post that he wanted “to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost.”
Dispute over Iran’s nuclear program still lingers
It’s not clear how the ceasefire announcement will impact a broader dispute over the fate of Iran’s nuclear program.
Israel’s campaign was primarily aimed at Iran’s nuclear program, as the country’s stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium has grown rapidly in recent months, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Israel has alleged Iran was secretly “racing towards a nuclear bomb.” But earlier this year, U.S. intelligence agencies assessed that Iran was not making nuclear weapons, though “pressure has probably built” for Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to reauthorize the country’s nuclear weapons program.
Mr. Trump said last week he believed the intelligence community was “wrong” about Iran’s nuclear ambitions, telling reporters, “I think they were very close to having one.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the issue “irrelevant” in an interview Sunday on CBS News’ “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” saying Iranian officials “have everything they need to build the weapon.”
Iran has long insisted its uranium enrichment program is peaceful.
For weeks, Mr. Trump has sought a broader deal with Iran to limit its nuclear program, but even before Israel began striking Iran, administration officials had grown frustrated with what they viewed as Iran’s unwillingness to actually negotiate, a U.S. official told CBS News. Mr. Trump has suggested Iran should abandon all uranium enrichment, but Iran rejected that demand.
Mr. Trump said over the weekend the U.S.’s strikes had “obliterated” three Iranian nuclear sites, including two subterranean uranium enrichment facilities, though Iran has downplayed the damage.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
contributed to this report.
