Trump says Israel-Iran ceasefire set to take effect soon, but Iran says no agreement and Israel yet to respond

Donald Trump says a ceasefire between Israel and Iran will take effect soon — but Iran denies any agreement, and Israeli officials have yet to respond. Here’s everything you need to know and what happens next.

President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire after more than a week of missile strikes on each other and a weekend attack on Iranian nuclear facilities by American bombers.

But just hours later, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said no agreement had been reached “as of now,” though a ceasefire was possible. Meanwhile, Israel continued launching missiles in one of the most intense barrages of the war.

So what does this mean for the ceasefire — and will it hold? Here’s everything you need to know.

WHAT IS A CEASEFIRE?

A ceasefire is a stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions, often due to mediation by a third party.

WHEN DOES THE CEASEFIRE COME INTO EFFECT?

Donald Trump said the Iran-Israel war would be over within 24 hours, with a 12-hour ceasefire set to begin at 2pm AEST, a truce that he said would bring the 12-day war to a “complete and total” end.

“It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a complete and total ceasefire (in approximately 6 hours from now, when Israel and Iran have wound down and completed their in progress, final missions), for 12 hours, at which point the war will be considered, ended,” Mr Trump wrote in a lengthy post on Truth Social.

“Officially, Iran will start the ceasefire and, upon the 12th hour, Israel will start the ceasefire and, upon the 24th Hour, an official end to the 12 day war will be saluted by the world.”

Mr Trump said both countries were committed to peace during the ceasefire and beyond.

However, Iran has said there’s no agreement on a ceasefire, but Tehran will halt attacks if Israel stops its “illegal aggression”.

President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire after more than a week of missile strikes on each other. Picture: Getty Images

HAS IRAN OR ISRAEL RESPONDED?

Iran’s Foreign Minister says the nation will stop its attacks if Israel halts its air strikes.

In the first official remarks by Tehran, Abbas Araghchi posted that there was no official agreement on a ceasefire but that Iran had “no intention to continue” its attacks if Israel stopped its “illegal aggression”.

As for Israel, there has been no word from Israeli officials.

WILL THE CEASEFIRE HOLD?

Mr Trump said he thought the ceasefire would be “unlimited”.

“It’s a great day for America. It’s a great day for the Middle East. I’m very happy to have been able to get the job done,” he told NBC News. “A lot of people were dying, and it was only going to get worse. It would have brought the whole Middle East down.”

“It’s going to go forever,” he said, adding that he does not believe Israel and Iran “will ever be shooting at each other again.”

Dr Alam Saleh, a Senior Lecturer in Iranian Studies at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University, described the the truce was “fragile”.

“The ceasefire appears fragile and is more likely a tactical pause than a durable resolution,” he said. “The underlying political and strategic tensions remain unresolved.”

WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST RISKS TO THIS AGREEMENT BREAKING DOWN IN THE FUTURE?

Dr Saleh said the key risks include:

• Continued Israeli operations in Iran
• Iranian support for regional proxies
• Miscalculations or provocations by non-state actors, such as Hezbollah or Islamic Jihad

WHAT IMPACT COULD THIS HAVE ON THE WIDER REGION?

Mr Trump’s latest post makes one thing clear — Washington has no desire to be drawn into another potentially prolonged conflict in the Middle East.

The key questions now are whether Israel will back away from its ambitions — and whether Iran is willing to accept Mr Trump’s olive branch.

If Israel holds back, Iran may have little to gain by continuing its attacks.

More broadly, the events of recent days may have strengthened the case for nuclear deterrence in the eyes of Arab states.

Countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE have long feared an Iranian nuclear weapon and attacks on their energy infrastructure by Iran or its proxies.

Now, Israel’s actions may have introduced a new and unpredictable threat to that regional equation.

Dr Saleh said: “It could lead to short-term de-escalation in proxy theaters like Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza.

“However, instability may persist or worsen if the ceasefire collapses, potentially drawing in external actors.”

DOES THIS SIGNAL A SHIFT IN IRAN’S REGIOANL STRATEGY?

Dr Saleh said: “It likely reflects a tactical recalibration rather than a strategic shift.

“Iran may be seeking to avoid broader confrontation while preserving deterrence and influence through asymmetric means.”

WHAT DOES RUSSIA THINK?

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said he sees no current conditions for restoring the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, but believes now is the time to intensify diplomatic efforts.

His remarks to Russian outlet Izvestia came shortly before former U.S. President Donald Trump claimed Israel and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire.

“I do not see at the moment, conditions for restoring the [Iran deal],” Ryabkov told Izvestia. “But this does not mean abandoning diplomacy, quite the opposite. Now is the time to redouble our efforts to achieve … to come to some decisions that would help stabilise the situation.”

Ryabkov said Russia “understood the logic and argumentation of our friends in Tehran, and of course, this means an end to the strikes, an end to further escalation by the other side.”

He added that halting the attacks was the “clear precondition for our Iranian colleagues to consider their political-diplomatic options.”

The Iran nuclear deal, signed in 2015, was designed to curb Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump withdrew the U.S. from the accord in 2018 but has since revived talks. However, Iran cancelled the latest round after Israeli strikes on its territory.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi shake hands during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow. Picture: AFP

ARE FLIGHTS STILL HAPPENING?

The closure of Qatari and United Arab Emirates airspace forced dozens of carriers, including Qantas, to divert their flights to safer airports in Cairo, India, Oman and Singapore.

A Qantas flight from Perth into Paris was turned back while over the Indian Ocean, while a London bound flight from Perth was redirected to Singapore where it will remain overnight.

Qatar Airways temporarily suspended its services in the wake of the attack, with two of its codeshare flights with new partner Virgin Australia, diverted on the way to Doha.

Flight VA1 (Sydney–Doha) was diverted to Bengaluru and VA15 (Brisbane–Doha) diverted to Muscat.

The flight from Sydney to Doha was forced to perform a U-turn halfway through the flight, before landing in Bengaluru in India, both aircraft however had landed safely.

The airline flagged significant delays and possible cancellations as a result of the airspace closures, confirming it had deployed additional staff at Hamad International Airport and other airports to assist affected passengers.

Flights in and out of Dubai International Airport were also temporarily suspended as the United Arab Emirates closed its airspace, but later resumed operations.

The closure forced Emirates to reroute a number of flights on route to Dubai, with the airline flagging potential delays due to “longer reroutings or airspace congestion”.

Originally published as Trump says Israel-Iran ceasefire set to take effect soon, but Iran says no agreement and Israel yet to respond