What we know about the ceasefire and Iran’s attack against the US

Almost eight hours after first announcing it, US President Donald Trump said a ceasefire between Iran and Israel was officially under way.

Trump first announced the ceasefire on Tuesday morning AEST, hours after Iran launched a missile strike on a military base in Qatar in response to the US bombing three of Iran’s nuclear facilities on Sunday. It has since been acknowledged by Iranian state media, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted the ceasefire. Here’s what you need to know:

Iranian missiles seen over Doha, Qatar.Credit: Getty Images

When did Trump announce a ceasefire between Israel and Iran?

Just hours after Iran attacked a US military base in Qatar, it agreed to a “complete and total” ceasefire to end the war with Israel within 24 hours, Trump said in a post shared on his Truth Social platform at around 8am AEST.

“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,” said Trump.

“During each CEASEFIRE, the other side will remain PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL.”

US President Donald Trump speaks from the East Room of the White House on Saturday after the US military struck three Iranian nuclear and military sites.Credit: AP

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, however, wrote on X shortly after: “As of now, there is NO ‘agreement’ on any ceasefire or cessation of military operations. However, provided that the Israeli regime stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4am Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards.”

“The final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later,” he concluded.

By 11am AEST (4.30am in Tehran), no reports of Israeli airstrikes in Iran after 4am had emerged. Intense Israeli airstrikes targeted Tehran and other areas until 4am local time. Israel in other conflicts typically steps up its strikes just before ceasefires take effect, The Associated Press reported.

By 2pm AEST, the time of Trump’s deadline, American media was reporting Iranian state television had announced a ceasefire agreement had been reached. Shortly after, however, the Israel Defence Force reported another barrage of missiles launched by Iran, in what’s understood to be the sixth wave of missiles launched by Iran at Israel today. Four people were killed in one strike on the southern Israeli city of Beersheba.

At about 4.30pm AEST, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed he had agreed to a bilateral ceasefire with Iran in co-ordination with Trump.

Netanyahu said that he had reported to Israel’s security cabinet on Monday night that Israel had achieved all of its war goals in the 12-day operation against Iran, including removing the threat of Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Israel also damaged Iran’s military leadership and several government sites and achieved control over Tehran’s skies, Netanyahu said.

“Israel will respond forcefully to any violation of the ceasefire,” he said.

What does a ceasefire mean?

A ceasefire is an agreement between warring parties to cease fighting. If the ceasefire is realised in the terms Trump has announced, it would lead to a total end in fighting between Israel and Iran, which, this time around, began on the June 13. (Israel and Iran had traded limited strikes in October.)

According to Trump’s statement, Iran will cease its strikes against Israel by 2pm, and by 8pm, Israel will stop bombing Iran. By 8am Wednesday, “an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR will be saluted by the World” Trump said.

What has Australia said about the ceasefire?

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has welcomed Trump’s announcement. He reiterated calls for peace in the Middle East and said the government’s priority was assisting Australians in the region.

“Australia welcomes President [Donald] Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran,” he said. “We have consistently called for dialogue, diplomacy and de-escalation.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong earlier condemned the attack by Iran and said the government continued “to call for de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy” in a post on X.

“We do not want to see further escalation. A full-scale war in the Middle East would be devastating for the people of the region and the world,” she said.

Wong encouraged travelling Australians to follow Smartraveller advice. Australians in need of emergency consular assistance should contact the Australian Government’s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre 1300 555 135 (calling within Australia) and [phone] (from overseas), she said.

Are Israel and Iran still attacking each other?

In the hours before the ceasefire, Iran and Israel were continuing to exchange attacks. Under the terms of the agreement, Iran would have until 2pm, and Israel until 8pm, to complete their “in-progress, final missions,” Trump said.

Israel’s military has issued new evacuation warnings for Tehran, CNN reported, telling residents in parts of the city to flee.

Notably, Israel targeted Tehran’s Evin Prison, which historically has held political prisoners and Westerners, including Australian researcher Kylie Moore-Gilbert, from 2018 to 2020.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage to the prison. Black-and-white footage shared by Iranian state-TV showed the facilities’ front gate being exploded in the strike.

France’s foreign minister accused Israel of endangering two French citizens detained inside the prison.

Where did Iran attack?

Before the ceasefire was announced, Iran fired missiles at the Al Udeid Air Base, which houses US troops, as well as the air forces of Qatar and Britain. Explosions could be heard overhead in the Gulf-state’s capital of Doha as air defences worked to intercept the attack.

The Qatar Defence Ministry said Iran fired 19 missiles and one made landfall, but there were no deaths or injuries. This is in part to Iran warning the US before the attack, which enabled the evacuation of personnel.

What did the US and Iran say about the attack?

Posting on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the Iranian response was “very weak” and it was both expected and effectively countered. He said 14 missiles were fired, of which 13 were intercepted and one passed by air defences “because it was headed in a nonthreatening direction”. His numbers were different to those reported by the Qatari ministry.

US Vice President J.D. Vance said the attack appeared to be symbolic rather than malicious. “They [Iran] actually gave us some warning here... because they didn’t want to kill Americans, and they didn’t want to escalate,” he told Fox News.

“There’s definitely some symbolism to this ... if you look at the Iranian attack, it was fourteen missiles that they telegraphed ahead of time [and] we dropped fourteen bunker buster bombs.”

Iran described the attack as “powerful and destructive”. The regime’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said the wave of missiles was in retaliation to “the blatant military aggression by the criminal regime of the United States” and that Iran “will never leave any aggression against its territorial integrity, sovereignty, or national security unanswered”.

Will the US retaliate?

It’s hard to say, but it appears Trump is publicly indicating the US does not intend to retaliate. Upon announcing the ceasefire deal, Trump publicly called for peace and said the war would soon be “officially” over.

“IT’S TIME FOR PEACE” he posted on Truth Social after Iran’s attack. The president added Iran had now “gotten it all out of their system” and he hoped there would be “no further HATE”.

However, in his statements after the US attacked Iranian nuclear sites, Trump warned Iran he would attack other sites if peace was not brokered swiftly. “There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran, far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days,” he said in an address from the White House.

It is worth noting that Trump has previously given misleading information publicly before launching an attack. Before striking Iran on Sunday, Trump said he would decide within the next two weeks on the United States’ next move, which was used to create a false sense of security ahead of the American attack.

How did the attack impacting flights?

The missile attack has forced planes to turn around mid-flight and necessitated the cancellation of some journeys.

Qatar closed its airspace for a couple of hours after the strike but reopened it shortly after 7am AEST. The Gulf state’s carrier Qatar Airways said it anticipated “significant delays”.

Flights were also briefly paused at the world’s busiest airport, Dubai International Airport, the Dubai Media Office said on X.

With Angus Thomson, AP.

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