Trump ceasefire plan falters as Israel accuses Iran of launching more missiles

Washington: A US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Iran hung in the balance on Tuesday night, after Tel Aviv accused Tehran of firing more missiles less than three hours into the truce.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday evening AEST that Iran had violated the ceasefire and he had instructed the military to resume “the intense operations to attack Tehran and to destroy targets of the regime and terror infrastructure”. But Iranian state television quoted the armed forces general staff denying there had been any breach of the ceasefire.

Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump had declared there would be a “complete and total ceasefire” between Iran and Israel that he suggested would last forever. His announcement came just hours after Iran launched missiles at an American air base in Qatar in retaliation for the US bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites at the weekend.

“On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both countries, Israel and Iran,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social website, suggesting the conflict be named “THE 12 DAY WAR”.

There were initially mixed signs about the two parties’ commitment to a ceasefire, with deadly attacks from both sides continuing up until the 2pm AEST deadline.

At 10.46am AEST, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, denied any agreement had been reached, but said Tehran’s attacks would stop if Israel ended its strikes. Shortly afterwards, Iranian state television announced a ceasefire, with Araghchi posting on X at 11.03am AEST that the Iranian military had fought “until the very last minute”.

Several hours later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it had also agreed to the ceasefire “in light of the achievement of the operation’s goals, and in full co-ordination with President Trump”.

“Israel thanks President Trump and the United States for their support in defence and their participation in eliminating the Iranian nuclear threat,” it said in a statement.

Writing on Truth Social just after 3pm AEST, Trump declared: “THE CEASEFIRE IS NOW IN EFFECT. PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT!”

Between Trump’s post and the start of the ceasefire, Iran had launched a fresh wave of missiles against Israel, killing four people in residential buildings in the city of Beersheba, while Iran reported nine people had died in an attack in its north.

Australian ambassador to Israel Ralph King talks to Australians who are being evacuated from Israel. Credit: Kate Geraghty

Then, just hours into the truce, Israel said it had intercepted a new barrage of missiles.

“Tehran will tremble,” Israel’s Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, wrote on X after the missiles were reportedly launched. There was no immediate report of a renewed Israeli attack.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said its armed forces remained prepared to “decisively respond” to any further strikes.

When Trump first announced the ceasefire, he appeared to suggest that Israel and Iran would have time to complete any missions that were under way, at which point the ceasefire would begin in a staged process.

He said the war could have gone on for years and destroyed the entire Middle East, “but it didn’t, and never will”.

He told NBC News he believed the ceasefire was “unlimited” and would “go forever”, adding he did not think Israel and Iran “will ever be shooting at each other again”.

Reuters reported that Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani had secured Tehran’s agreement to the US ceasefire proposal during a call with Iranian officials held after the Iranian strikes on a US base in Qatar on Monday, citing an official briefed on the negotiations.

The phone call came after Trump told Qatar’s emir that Israel had agreed to the ceasefire and asked for Doha’s help persuading Tehran to also agree to the deal, the official said.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed Trump’s announced ceasefire. “We have consistently called for dialogue, diplomacy and de-escalation,” he said in a statement.

At an evacuation gathering point in Tel Aviv, a grandmother cuddles her granddaughter as the family waits to be evacuated by the Australian embassy.Credit: Kate Geraghty

Trump’s announcement came after Iran attacked America’s Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in retaliation for the US’s weekend strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities. The airbase hosts the Qatari, US and UK air forces, and the forward headquarters of US Central Command in the region.

Trump described Iran’s missile attack as a “very weak response” that the US had anticipated, but thanked Iran for giving advance warning, “which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured”.

He also said: “Perhaps Iran can now proceed to peace and harmony in the region, and I will enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same.”

Trump gave the number of Iranian retaliatory missiles as 14, and said 13 were “knocked down”, with one other “set free” as it was not heading in a threatening direction. “Most importantly, they’ve gotten it all out of their ‘system’, and there will, hopefully, be no further HATE.”

Qatar, however, said Iran had fired 19 missiles at the US air base and hit with one, but caused no casualties. Qatar’s Defence Ministry earlier said its defence systems intercepted the attack.

While there was no harm to humans, air travel was disrupted by the incident. Qantas was among the airlines forced to divert planes away from Qatari airspace, which was closed shortly before Iran’s missile attack.

Iran fired the missiles at Al Udeid early on Tuesday AEST in retaliation for the American bombardment of its nuclear facilities at the weekend.

In a statement, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps said the attack was a response to “the blatant military aggression by the criminal regime of the United States”. It described the operation as “powerful and destructive”, said Iran “will never leave any aggression against its territorial integrity, sovereignty or national security unanswered”.

This satellite image shows the Al Udeid Air Base outside of Doha, Qatar, on June 15.Credit: Planet Labs via AP

Built on a flat stretch of desert about 30 kilometres south-west of Qatar’s capital, Doha, Al Ubdeid is one of the most significant American military assets in the region.

The sprawling facility hosts thousands of US service members and served as a major staging ground for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. At the height of both, it housed some 10,000 US troops, but that number dropped to about 8000 as of 2022. Trump visited the base during his trip to Qatar last month and spoke to troops.

Last week, ahead of the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, many of the transport planes, fighter jets and drones typically on Al Udeid’s tarmac dispersed. In a June 18 satellite photo taken by Planet Labs and analysed by the Associated Press, the airbase’s tarmac had emptied.

The US hit Iran’s nuclear assets with 75 projectiles on the weekend, including 14 “bunker buster” bombs aimed at obliterating the country’s ability to develop nuclear weapons, though the full extent of the damage is still uncertain.

Iran said the number of missiles it fired on Tuesday matched the number of bombs dropped by the US, and that any future US attacks would also meet retaliation, in comments widely interpreted as an indication Tehran was not planning any further action at this stage.

The statement from Iran’s Supreme National Security Council also noted the attack on the US base took place away from populated areas and posed no threat to Qatar, “our friendly and brotherly country”.

With Reuters, AP

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