Israel says it has ‘refrained’ from further strikes on Iran after Trump call
Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu said the country “refrained” from further strikes on Iran after a call with Donald Trump, but wary Iranians doubt the pause will hold. Here’s what you need to know.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the country “refrained” from further strikes on Iran on Tuesday after he spoke with US President Donald Trump in a call.
Israel accused Iran of violating a fragile ceasefire agreement on Tuesday morning by firing two missiles, with Defence Minister Israel Katz immediately promising “to respond forcefully”.
But writing on his social media platform Truth Social, President Trump told Israel: “Do not drop those bombs,” before he angrily accused the country and Iran of ceasefire violations in comments to reporters in Washington.
Mr Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that the prime minister had held a call with Mr Trump and “Israel refrained from further strikes” on Iran.
Israel had “destroyed a radar installation near Tehran” in retaliation for the missile fire, the statement said, with Israeli media reports suggesting Mr Netanyahu had scaled down the operation following Mr Trump’s reaction.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED SO FAR?
Last night, President Trump announced on social media a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. Israel responded by launching its heaviest bombing of Tehran yet.
Iran responded with a missile attack, killing four Israelis in the southern town of Beersheba. On his way to the NATO summit in the Netherlands, Mr Trump lashed out at Israel and Iran for violating the the ceasefire before it took effect.
WHAT DO IRANIANS THINK?
Tehran was far from its usual hustle and bustle on Tuesday, but life was regaining some colour despite concerns from residents that a tentative ceasefire between Iran and Israel may not hold, after nearly two weeks of war.
“I don’t think it is sustainable,” said Ahmad Barqi, a 75-year-old vendor of electronics at Tajrish bazaar in north Tehran. “We would like a ceasefire... but they don’t implement it, they don’t keep to their promises,” he said, referring to the Israelis.
“It seems Israel is violating the truce,” said Alireza Jahangiri, another merchant, who heard state media reporting that Israel had carried out three rounds of strikes after the ceasefire was announced.
Amir, 28, told AFP he “froze for a minute” on hearing that President Trump had announced a ceasefire on social media in the middle of the night.
“It was really shocking. Trump just said he would think for two weeks before making a decision (to bomb Iran), but all of a sudden he bombed everywhere. He said he wasn’t pursuing regime change and all of a sudden, boom, peace. I really don’t know... about the ceasefire but honestly, I don’t think things will return to normal,” he said.
Iranian authorities presented the halt in strikes as a “triumph that forced the enemy to regret, accept defeat and unilaterally cease its aggression”.
But they added that Iran “does not trust its enemies at all” and “keeps its finger on the trigger for a decisive response” in the event of renewed “aggression”.
HAVE THERE BEEN ANY MORE STRIKES?
No strikes had been recorded in Tehran since the early morning, after a night in which residents were woken by explosions more numerous than previously in the war.
“Fortunately, we have survived,” said one relieved Tehrani taking advantage of the truce and the good weather to walk in the park, while nearby cafes were welcoming young people happy to be able to meet up again.
They were among those who had stuck it out in the capital, but the question remains whether those who fled Tehran will be convinced to return.
Benyamin, 28, said he too was doubtful about peace but that he had no choice but to return to the capital from the shores of the Caspian Sea, because his income had been slashed.
Israeli strikes have destroyed or damaged public buildings, in particular those related to the military, the Revolutionary Guards or Iran’s nuclear programme, as well as killing civilians in buildings where high-ranking officials and scientists lived.
WHEN DID THE CEASEFIRE COME INTO EFFECT?
Mr 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”.
HOW DID IRAN AND ISRAEL RESPOND?
Iran’s Foreign Minister said 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”.
Israel did not respond until its talk with Mr Trump.
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 truce as “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 REGIONAL 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.
“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.
Mr 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.
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.
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”.
- with AFP
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