U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday that Israel and Iran have agreed to a ceasefire and an end to the war between the two countries.
Trump said the ceasefire would begin in about six hours, at approximately midnight Eastern time, when both sides would conclude any ongoing military operations.
“It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a complete and total ceasefire,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “During each ceasefire, the other side will remain peaceful and respectful.”
“On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both countries, Israel and Iran, on having the stamina, courage and intelligence to end what should be called ‘the 12-Day War,’” Trump said. “This is a war that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will.”
“Congratulations, world, it’s time for peace,” he wrote in a second message.
Trump announced that the ceasefire was in effect a little over an hour after it was supposed to start, writing on his Truth Social account in all caps: “THE CEASEFIRE IS NOW IN EFFECT. PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT! DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!”
The Israeli government subsequently announced on Tuesday morning that it had agreed to the truce after achieving all its objectives in “Operation Rising Lion.”
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee reacted to the ceasefire on X, writing that he was “awakened by phone instead of ballistic missile” at 3 a.m. in Israel as Trump delivered “great news of [a] ceasefire soon to be in place.”
Huckabee added that the 12-day conflict “felt like 12 months,” and praised the president for not just praying for peace, but delivering it, thanking him for bringing relief to the region.
